Health Department vows stricter monitoring of water systems
Askenish, Hanover – The Hanover Health Department has vowed to increase its vigilance of minor water supply systems in the parish following reports two weeks ago of a possible contamination of the Chubby Hole system in this rural community due to burials in an area of the Dolphin Head Mountain near the water source.
“We will have to be more vigilant and keep our eyes and ears open and go into the area more,” said Chief Public Health Inspector Derrick Storer, who led a three-member team from the health department to investigate the claims.
He has declared the system – the sole water supply for several neighbouring farming communities – free of contamination, saying that the burials are not close enough to the water source to cause pollution.
However, Storer has conceded that the water supply system is poorly maintained. So too, he said, is its sister system at Rock Foot, which provides water for residents of Crognation Road in the area. The Hanover Parish Council manages both systems.
“We will be writing a comprehensive report to the council about it,” Storer told the Observer. “The tanks need to be de-silted and the pipes are old and rotting.”
Storer accused the council of neglecting the proper upkeep of the systems in the area and pointed to a recent report which stated that the chlorination tank at the Chubby Hole system was “in desperate need of repairs”.
According to secretary manager of the Council, Alfred Graham, two persons from the community are employed to chlorinate both systems.
However, residents said that chlorination of the system was not enough, especially at Rock Foot where the water tank was not sealed and prone to contamination.
Storer concurred that the system needed to be improved, as it was open and located in an unsecured area where animals, for example, could easily pollute the water.
“It needs to be better managed,” he insisted. “And this is something I will be recommending to the Council.”
Storer added that the health department would be ensuring that future burials in the area were done in sealed graves and pointed out that one of the reasons they had not been sticking to the strict monitoring procedures was because they were woefully short-staffed, having only half the number of staff they needed.