81.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesEPA: 200-Plus V.I. Bays Polluted or Threatened

EPA: 200-Plus V.I. Bays Polluted or Threatened

More than 200 bays on St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas are listed as impaired or threatened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The list was issued Thursday by the EPA.

An impaired water body is one that does not meet water quality standards even after pollution controls have been put in place. A threatened water body is one that is expected to be impaired within two years. According to a press release from EPA, the list helps to set priorities for addressing current water pollution threats.

“It’s a guiding document,” EPA spokesman Elias Rodriquez said.

The Clean Water Act requires states and territories like the Virgin Islands to assess the quality of their waters and to report their findings every two years to EPA. The list is compiled by the territory’s Planning and Natural Resources Department and is a valuable tool for reaching the Clean Water Act goal of “fishable and swimmable” waters for the entire territory, the press release indicated.

“The protection and restoration of waters throughout the Virgin Islands are critical to people’s health and the economy of the Virgin Islands,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said. “The list of impaired and threatened waters in the Virgin Islands helps governments, businesses and concerned citizens create the best plans for eliminating the pollution that threatens water quality.”

The most common cause of the pollution problems are turbidity, which is cloudiness in the water; dissolved oxygen; and bacteria, the press release noted.

The list of 204 sites also indicated the sources of water pollutants. The most common sources include erosion and sedimentation, discharges from boats at marinas, and highway, road and bridge runoff. A pollutant may come from more than one source.

The list specifically includes impaired waters for which the development of a total maximum daily load, called TMDL, is necessary. TMDLs define the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards.

In 2010, pollutants were identified that had not previously been present in Christiansted Harbor, the Offshore Southgate Subwatershed, both on St. Croix; Mangrove Lagoon on St. Thomas; and other waters.

While some of the areas on the list have ongoing problems, Anita Nibbs, supervisor of Planning’s Water Quality Management Program, said that some of the bays may have had just one instance of low water quality in a year. She said that was enough to put them on the list.

Of the 204 on the list, four were noted as high priorities. This means that Planning will soon address issues with those bays.

One of those bays is Round Bay on St. John. The impaired or threatened list noted that the source of the turbidity and pH problems in the bay is unknown, and Nibbs said she didn’t know what caused the problem. Round Bay is on the island’s East End, an area of St. John that is still remote. The issue at that bay should be addressed in 2012, the EPA report indicated.

Additionally, St. John’s Johnson’s Bay, which sits downhill from Calabash Boom affordable housing community, made Planning’s weekly list of beaches with problems, the only one of 43 beaches across the territory to do so. Nibbs said the problem probably stems from the recent heavy rains.

On St. Croix, three areas on the impaired or threatened list will be addressed in 2011. They include Tamarind Reef Lagoon, which has dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, turbidity, and “Secchi" depth problems. Secchi depth measures transparency. According to the EPA list, the problems come from marina/boating “sanitary on-vessel discharges.” Other problems at Tamarind Reef Lagoon, also called Southgate Lagoon, are erosion from “derelict land,” post-development erosion and sedimentation, impacts from resort areas, discharges from municipal combined storm sewer systems, and other spill-related impacts.

Green Cay Beach is a new addition. It suffers from turbidity from “package plants,” erosion and sedimentation.

Southgate subwatershed has dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform and enterococci bacteria, and turbidity problems that come from marina boat maintenance, marina/boating sanitary on-vessel discharges, and non-source-point pollution.

The complete list of impaired waters is available at the EPA website.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.