Three Houses Spring faces pollution; probe launched

by Emmanuel Joseph

A major probe has been launched into water quality findings that reveal animal waste pollution of the crucial Three Houses Spring in St Philip, which supplies water to area farmers.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir made the disclosure on Friday, vowing to prosecute the person or persons responsible.

“Tests were carried out on the water at Three Houses Spring. This water obviously is water that flows from the head of the spring all the way down to Browne’s Pond. The tests that were carried out showed that somebody was diverting animal waste from a pig pen or something into the stream,” Weir told Barbados TODAY exclusively.

“That matter is being investigated. There is a management committee in place at Three Houses under the Three Houses Spring Management Act, and those investigations, once proved, the person is going to be prosecuted.”
Some farmers who rely on the spring have expressed concern about the potential negative health effects the polluted water could have on them.

Barbados TODAY understands that “very high” levels of E. coli bacteria were discovered in the spring. The faecal bacteria is commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals.
While most strains are harmless and play a role in digestion, they are also tell-tale signs of certain disease-causing pathogens.

The spring has not only been the source of sustenance for centuries but the centre of water management policy in the country dating back just as long. The current law governing the spring is an update on the Three Houses Spring Act of 1713.

The Three Houses Spring (Management and Control) Act, passed last year, punishes polluters with a fine of $25 000, up to two years in prison, or both. The offender may also be ordered to take action to fix the spring. The law forbids anyone who diverts, dams, blocks, or pollutes the spring; or installs any device or contrivance in or near the spring which may interfere with the free flow of water.

The state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) also has the authority to order an offending person to take action to rectify the condition of the spring.

If that person fails to comply with the BADMC’s order, they may lose the right to use the water from the spring.
Approved individuals are also entitled to use the water from the spring, free of charge, for purposes such as shorebird hunting, model boat racing, fishing, maintaining a bird or wildlife sanctuary, bathing, or religious practices.

They are also permitted to abstract and use the water from the spring solely for agricultural production, including food production, horticulture, aquaculture, landscaping, or the maintenance of grounds and curtilages.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb