March 20, 2008 — A spring of putrid water is gurgling up by the road a handful of yards east of the entrance to the LBJ Gardens community.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources has issued a warning, advising children and adults with compromised immune systems to avoid the above-mentioned areas, especially the area along the gut that borders the Estate Richmond Water and Power Authority power plant. Standing or running water in these areas may contain contaminants or pollutants harmful to human health.
The water is coming from a failed sewer force main. Force-main failures in this area and by the adjacent JFK Housing Community have occurred sporadically for years.
(See "Ground at LBJ Housing Community Contaminated with Raw Sewage.")
The existing network of old ductile iron pipes has rusted out over many decades and the V.I. Waste Management Authority is replacing sections with high-strength PVC piping when they fail.
Sewage is percolating from the subsurface onto the street and flowing into an off-site storm drain. From there the flow enters Christiansted Harbor via the gut that parallels LBJ Gardens. The Waste Management Authority has been notified and has mobilized one of its contractors to begin repairs, DPNR's advisory says.
As of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, a spring with the flow of perhaps 10 or a dozen garden hoses was flowing vigorously into the neighboring gut, filling the immediate area with an overwhelming reek, and a lesser septic aroma throughout the community adjacent to the power plant. There was no sign of work having begun yet at the site.
For additional information regarding this matter, DPNR says to contact the V.I. Waste Management Authority at 712-4950.
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