St. Maarten Private Eye

SIMPSON BAY--Swimming in the ocean after heavy rains close to natural drainage outlets can be dangerous to your health, according to a recent water survey conducted by the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) and Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC).

In the nine-month-study covering March to November 2007, the researchers collected 53 water samples from ten sites around Simpson Bay Lagoon. Faecal Coliform bacteria, facultative-anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria that are a direct result of raw untreated sewage entering coastal water, were found in the samples.

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