No Pesticides Worry For Saint Lucia's Drinking Water

Contact: Dana Augustin

Friday, May 26, 2000 – Surface waters in Saint Lucia have been found to contain pesticides, but drinking water continues to meet international standards. That’s what Environmental Chemist Dr. Million Woudneh found from studies conducted last year. Dr. Woudneh revealed his findings during a lecture on "Pesticides in Saint Lucian Waters" which he gave at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College on Friday, May 26.

During the study, conducted mainly in Roseau and Vieux – Fort, Dr. Woudneh and his team found that river waters in Roseau contained a higher concentration of pesticides. Although pesticides are scientifically known to be harmful, Woudneh says that there is no need for alarm. "There is no immediate alarm at this stage because we have not detected any concentration of this pesticide in the drinking water, but in the surface waters we have detected varying concentration levels in the different parts of the island."

The Environmental Chemist suggests that agriculture, one of the areas that many persons especially in rural communities rely on for a living, needs to be monitored continuously because poor agricultural practices contribute to pesticides getting into the water. He notes that while farmers are accustomed to using river water to irrigate and maintain their farmlands, many are unaware of the potential dangers of water pollution that can occur as a result of the continuous disposal of materials containing pesticides into the water. Said Woudneh, "The farmers need to be more aware of the use of the pesticides, the way they need to dispose the chemical solutions and the containers after they have used them. A lot of education needs to be done in that area."

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