Polluters dump toxic waste fuel near water supply
(CNS): In recent months, there has been an increase in toxic waste oil and fuel being dumped close to the Water Authority supply lines in and around its meter boxes. This poses a significant risk to the public water supply system, officials said, as they warned these polluters that hydrocarbons such as gasoline, diesel, motor oil and kerosine are all hazardous materials and should never be disposed of directly in or on the ground, in storm drains, waterways, or Water Authority meter boxes.
“When hazardous materials are not appropriately stored or disposed of, there is a risk it can contaminate the public water supply or groundwater,” the WA stated in a release about the dangers of polluting the water supply. “If a meter box is exposed to these contaminants, the impacted area must be cleaned up to protect the water supply system. This takes substantial resources and results in high costs, which are the responsibility of the customer.”
The WA strongly urged its customers to follow Department of Environmental Health guidelines on how to store and dispose of these hydrocarbon pollutants properly and reduce the risk of poisoning the water supply.
All hydrocarbons should be stored in containers specially designed for this purpose; do not use empty water bottles, plastic containers or containers that are left open. Hazardous waste must be separated from household waste and dropped off at the landfill in the designated storage area for hazardous materials so that it can be processed for proper disposal overseas.
Anyone who suspects their water supply may be contaminated with hydrocarbons should immediately call the Water Authority at
949-2837 or +1(345) 946-HELP (946-4357)
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What do you expect when you allow back yard mechanics to operate wherever they please? Oh and the “fishing” boats. Wake up Cayman, place has gone to the dogs. Please do the right thing and vote out the John Johns of this world.
People have no regard for Caymans paradise. Some need to go home to dem yard. Others need go jail. Others need their ling flights home. Cayman is ruined and it’s the Cayman so called leaders. Fault over many years u fortunately. Lock the door and do a clean up for gods sake.
BAN glyphosate and other toxic forever chemicals.
That’s the crap in weedkillers like Roundup.
What do you think people who dump car,truck and boat batteries by the side of the road think will happen to the lead absorbed acid that leaks out ? By various boat ramps I have seen, large capacity batteries just left by the side. Car batteries left where they died, obviously replaced with a new one , but no consideration to the effects of improper disposal.
Is DOE / DEH monitoring what the various garages are doing with conventional , hybrid and plug in vehicle batteries? If you own a TESLA that is approaching 10 years old, its battery will be about to die. They are too expensive to replace , what is happening to the vehicles?All the small import Hybrid vehicle batteries , or just the abandoned [ electric] vehicle?
They don’t think.
This is nothing more than the Water Authority trying to divert attention from the environmental disaster that is their sewerage treatment plant.
Meh, just build more cancer hospitals and it’ll be all good.
WA and DEH need to warn NRA, especially. I have seen NRA trucks pumping deep-wells with road-runoff, oils, etc. and then dumping that “water” into the into the mangrove wetlands bordering the highway in Red Bay, near the old Red Bay road.
Same word class public circus but no two hands ever know what each other are doing!!
This isn’t the first instance and won’t be the last. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the contamination that resulted from a 30 year leak at a Rubis station on Shedden Road, now site of Cricket Square 6 building. This leak contaminated supply lines going into the gas station, Cricket Square offices and residential wells close to Reflections Liquor for less but was never reported by Water Authority and apparently wasn’t noticed by their meter readers either. One wonders if they even check meters for commercial properties? Anyone drinking hot and cold beverages at that station received a detrimental dose over many years as the levels of contaminants were well above what a charcoal filter captures before break though occurs. It will be interesting to see if Water Authority’s regulator, OfReg makes a statement and if Water Authority reports on their website the levels of contamination found in customer’s drinking water and how long they might have been exposed for.
Abstraction of water occurs over 200 feet below ground and the geology of Cayman prohibits significant vertical movement of fluid (whereas horizontal movement from the ocean is more prevalent).
Oil poured into a meter box can leech into the customer’s service line, and therefore it’s sort of a you shot yourself in the foot problem, not WAC’s. This is quite like blaming the fire service that you lost your house because you were careless with an illegal bush fire in your backyard.
Cayman does not have any heavy industry or oil refineries drilling into the ground that could contaminate the deep ground saline. Handle and dispose of YOUR shxt/oil properly and stop pointing fingers at the people who have to clean up the mess after.
Covering up a mess after it has been discovered the contaminants leaked into a WAC’s water supply pipeline(s) for a commercial property is quite different topic from the one you are referring to. But if deferring and deflecting from the truth is your aim then I commend your half baked effort. Seems you have much to learn from historical fuel leaks and in Cayman.
CUC isn’t responsible if you blow up your appliances for non-planning approved electrical wiring also.
It seems like you’re the one with some underlying motive here.
What someone dumped McBeater
= hazardous waste.
didn’t just someone dear to Cayman died from a long battle with cancer?
When toxins and chemicals are poured into awaiting drains, they disappear from sight, and that’s good enough for many of the minimum wage buffoons that are tasked with disposal. Every construction site does the same and worse.
Set up CCTV and fine the offenders and charge them for the environmental clean up. Land of laws with no enforcement.
Deport them too if not Caymanian.
They may not be Caymanian. They probably work for a Caymanian that i am sure knows exactly what they are doing. They are probably being told were to dump it.
Fair point, since most of the immigrants on the island don’t have a clue what to do at their jobs until a competent Caymanian directs them.