Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy (second from right) making a point while Minister of Health John Boyce (right), Consultant, Ministry of Tourism, Hugh Foster (left) and Chetwyn Stewart listen attentively during a media briefing on Worthing Beach to announce its re-opening to the public after a short closure over the weekend.
WORTHING beach reopens
Fri, 12/09/2016 - 12:00am
Worthing Beach is once again open to the public.
Removing the ‘Beach Temporarily Closed’ signs and red flag that were placed on the beach last week due to “an excessively cautious decision”, Minister of Tourism and International Transport Richard Sealy stated yesterday that the water was safe for beach-goers.
A decision was taken to open the sluice gate last week in order to lower the water level in the Graeme Hall swamp and reduce infiltration into the sewer system. This was due to the fact that high rainfall and extensive storm water runoff into the swamp had infiltrated low-lying areas within the sewered catchment areas as the system was not designed to handle both wastewater and the infiltrated storm water.
However, Sealy disclosed yesterday morning that the tests taken by the Environmental Protection Department on Monday and Wednesday indicated that there were no unusual levels of bacteria at the beach.
The minister also shut down claims that raw sewage was dumped into the seas during the swamp’s drainage process.
“I saw when the swamp was being drained. There was nothing taking place there that does not always take place there and has not been taking place there for years and anyone in the area will know that you will see a little discolouration when the swamp is being drained,” he continued.
Giving this assurance to the media moments after taking a dip in the sea with several friends, he heavily chastised the Opposition Barbados Labour Party for giving the impression that government was deliberately threatening people’s health.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. You saw me. If I can swim in this beach, anybody can swim in this beach including our visitors. It is safe and there is no need to ferment discontent for a non-issue. The authorities had it under control from the start and we are going to continue to see that this is the case,” he insisted.
Sealy also claimed that at no point was the beach unsafe describing the closure, as “a position taken by some technical people at the Environmental Protection Department, an excessively cautious decision in my view, but one that I understood”.
Sealy extended a personal invitation to all Barbadians and tourists to return to the beach.
(JMB)