River polluted again, Dangrigans switch to well

Another citrus waste contamination of the North Stann Creek River has occurred as a result of heavy rains in the Stann Creek Valley. The leachate ponds of Del Oro Limited overflowed their banks around 10:00 on Tuesday morning. The citrus company alerted the Water and Sewerage Authority about the situation and WASA immediately switched Dangriga’s water source from river to well water. At 4:00 this afternoon, however, all was back to normal. Harry Bennett, WASA’s public relation officer, told News Five that PAHO, the Department of the Environment, and WASA conducted tests on both treated and untreated river and well water. The test results showed that both river and well water meet PAHO’s standards for safety and are therefore safe for consumption. This has been the third incident of contamination in less than two months.