NEPA testing for contamination in Rio Cobre amid complaints

 

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has disclosed that it is conducting a chemical analysis of water in the Rio Cobre as part of its probe into recent complaints by residents.

 

Residents say the water became discoloured and they were worried that another incident of contamination had taken place.

 

Richard Nelson, Senior Manager of Environmental Management at NEPA, says the agency has started the preparatory process for conducting an investigation and has taken samples of the water for testing. 

 

"We have a good idea of what the profile of Rio Cobre is. We have a water quality monitoring programme for the Rio Cobre where we know, whenever there is contamination what is there and whenever it is in spate what is expected. So we are relying on that analysis to give an indication as to whether or not there was something in the water, and if there was something and we can identify it, we should be able to also use that as evidence to get an idea which of the facilities along the river may have caused the discharge," he said Wednesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.  

 

Mr. Nelson said the reported could take about five to seven days to be completed.