By Lynford Simpson, Staff ReporterTHE QUALITY of water available in Jamaica for household, agricultural, industrial and other uses, is being threatened by human activities in several areas, according to the report on the environment which was recently tabled in Parliament by Horace Dalley, Land and Environment Minister.
It noted that ground water is "susceptible to impurities and pollutants that may find their way into recharged water".
The 83-page document titled: 'Jamaica's Environment 2001' lists the "main pollution problems" as:
Seawater intrusion of coastal aquifiers caused by over pumping of the aquifier, pumping below sea level and poor well design.
Caustic soda contamination (red mud) of ground and surface water from alumina plants.
Organic and bacteriological contamination of both ground and surface water by wastewater from agro-industrial waste (sugar, rum, dairy).
Nitrate and bacteriological contamination of groundwater caused by seepage from soak-away pits built for sewage disposal.
Contamination of groundwater by seepage from unlined solid waste dump sites and leaking underground petroleum storage tanks.
Among the other findings of the report are that majority of the wells throughout the island exceed standards for drinking water due to high levels of nitrate, sodium and chloride.
Poor land use and inappropriate construction practices have been blamed for the flow reduction in some rivers and increased erosion and higher levels of turbidity in streams. This high turbidity is beyond the capability of treatment plants, some of which have to be shut down resulting in no water to customers.
According to the report, exploitable ground water provides 92 per cent of the water supplied to all sectors. It represents 81 per cent of the unutilised water. The largest reserve of unutilised groundwater can be found in the Dry Harbour Mountains Basin in St. Ann.
