Residents trained as river wardens to help safeguard Rio Cobre

By Kimone Witter    

 

Residents of communities close to the Rio Cobre in St. Catherine have been trained to identify pollutants and other abnormalities as part of an early warning system for the river.

 

The 28 river wardens from the communities of Church Road, Linstead, Bog Walk, Kent Village, Zephyrton and Pleasant Hill were also recently trained in water sampling techniques, the impact of pollution and invasive species on the health of the river, the rudiments of the Wild Life Protection and Natural Resources Conservation Authority Acts and enforcement procedures of the National Environment and Planning Agency.

 

Representatives of a community action group known as Friends of Rio Cobre were also present at the training as well as vendors who operate along the roadway and fisherfolk who are economically dependent on the river.

 

NEPA says the wardens will be able to provide the agency with timely alerts to incidents of pollution of the Rio Cobre and enable an immediate assessment of suspected pollutants.

 

Senior Manager for Environmental Management at NEPA, Richard Nelson, says the river warden training is part of a broader initiative to safeguard the Rio Cobre and represents the second phase in the implementation of the early warning system in the area.

 

The first phase was the installation of eight large street signs at various points along the river which bear the dedicated emergency contact details for people to use to report a suspected pollution incident.

 

Additionally, Mr. Nelson says work has already started on a third phase, which is to introduce a multi-parameter water quality monitoring technology that will allow the agency to easily detect elevated levels of pollutants and possibly the source of such contaminants along the river in real time.