Liquid Pollution and Waste Disposal

When walking through George Street, east Port-of-Spain, we were greeted with an incredible stench. This was due to run-off from a poultry depot that flowed in the drains. Feathers and pieces of meat could be visible in the drain as well. On other streets, however, there was no presence of liquid waste disposal. When walking along Independence Square, there was a milky, pink substance in the drain as seen in the photo below. A few vendors were questioned on its origin, however, none seemed to know of its source. There were food stalls present in that area so our best guess was that may have been from a food product.

Upon researching, it was found that there are no specific legislation put in place for liquid waste disposal throughout the streets of Port-of-Spain. The Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) tested the soils of Port-of-Spain and it was discovered that, "according to some sources (anon), high nitrate leverls were detected at various times in Port-of-Spain and Valsayn. These high levels have been linked to leaching from nearby cemeteries." (Wesleyf1, p9), There were no testing carried out on the drain water in the city which led to our belief that liquid waste disposal in the business hub of east Port-of-Spain is not seen as a threat or acknowledged as a major issue. The link below is the report of the study conducted by Wesleyf1.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18541816/Water-Pollution-in-the-Republic-of-Trinidad-and-Tobago#scribd

That fact alone shows that the government and by extension, citizens are probably unaware or in some cases, don't care about the liquid waste disposal methods in Port-of-Spain. The city of Vernon has come up with with a Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) to reduce the amount of liquid waste present in their city by addressing a number of key issues such as sewage run-off and other wastewaters and implementing water conservation programs. More information can be read on the website below. This plan can be examined and reconfigured to address the needs of Trinidad's capital, thus reducing and hopefully eliminating liquid waste disposal in Port-of-Spain.

http://www.vernon.ca/services/operations/liquid_waste.html