It stinks
In the last week it was noticeable twice: the smell of raw sewage hung over a part of what is popularly called “the Simpson Bay strip” from the Cole Bay “mega-roundabout” to the end of the airport runway. This prime tourism area now has the dubious honour of joining the ranks of other areas such as Dutch Quarter, Middle Region, Cole Bay and Sucker Garden where running sewage and the unbearable stench that goes with it have become a common occurrence.
It is a crying shame that it had to come to this. After all, the implications of the rapid development of St. Maarten for the island’s waste water carrying capacity have been becoming more and more obvious for years.
It was more than a decade ago that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with Dutch company Intaquin for an integrated sewage and drinking water management system. Local utility company GEBE opposed the deal and pledged to provide such a system itself, but so far there is no sign that will ever take place.
In the meantime, residents and visitors alike continue to suffer from the environmental hazard of running sewage, often because cesspools are either not pumped out when needed or inadequate for the size of and/or number of people in the buildings concerned. While authorities can and do act against this, it is a time- and resource-consuming process and there are simply too many other pressing affairs with which the understaffed and under-funded law enforcement agencies must deal.
Perhaps the question should be asked if those who opposed the Intaquin deal actually smell the stench caused by sewage running in the neighbourhoods, where people, including children, regularly can be seen negotiating their way around the dirty water. Chances are they only drive by in their air-conditioned cars with windows up, so it doesn’t bother them.
It is high time GEBE is called to account on its pledge to provide the island with a proper sewage management system or admits it is unable to do so, so others can. Enough is enough.
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