conference magazine - Caribbean Environmental Health Institute

ventilation, temperature, etc inherent to those room types.
• HosPilot methodology - what the methodology is, how it is
implemented, what technical solutions it proposes and questionnaire
for auditing hospitals
• Description of the pilot sites and their requirements
• The purpose of the project and its intended impact
Assessment of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Jamaica by
the Ministry of Health by Nilsia Johnson, Leonard Smith, William
Broughton and Homero Silva
An assessment of the complete status of wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs), effluent quality and the impact of effluent on the
environment is difficult to make with current data. Therefore it is not
possible to fully determine the compliance by the Government of
Jamaica with the Protocol concerning Pollution from Land-Based
sources and Activities in the Wider Caribbean Region (LBS Protocol)
of the Cartagena Convention. The Government of Jamaica
ratified the Cartagena Convention on 1987.
This study aimed to assess the nation’s sewage treatment systems
and their impact on the environment. The objectives were to assess
the efficiency and the effluent water quality of Jamaica’s WWTPs;
Assess the environmental and health impacts of effluents on water
bodies; Assess the level of compliance with the Protocol concerning
Pollution from Land-Based sources and Activities in the Wider
Caribbean Region; build the capacity and quality assurance systems
of the Laboratory; and to identify constraints to effective
wastewater treatment and recommend measures for improvement
in the short, medium and long-term.
Regional workshops were conducted to determine the number of
WWTPs. This included discussing the inspection form, schedule of
sampling, methodology and to obtain the GPS coordinates of the
Influent and Effluent of the plant. One sampling exercise was conducted
over a three-month period for each plant, and equipment
and supplies were acquired. Samples were collected for testing of
the effluent and receiving water bodies where applicable for the
following parameters: Faecal Coliform, Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Nutrients (Total
Nitrate and Total Phosphorus), Oil and Grease and Total Suspended
Solids (TSS). These results were compared with existing
government standards. The compiled data collected was placed on
a national data base.
Preliminary results revealed that there are some wastewater plants
that do not meet the standards. However more information will be
gathered to ensure the consistency of the performance of the
plants.
Analysis of the Nutritional Content of Duckweed and the Quality
of Water that Supports its Growth by Marlyn Ramjeet-Samad
In recent years a commonly occurring aquatic plant, "duckweed"
Lemna sp., has become prominent, because of its ability to concentrate
minerals on heavily polluted water such as that arising from
sewage treatment facilities, intensive animal or crop processing or
production industries. However, it has also attracted the attention of
scientists because of its apparent high potential as a feed resource
for aquaculture and livestock (Skillicorn et al., 1993; Leng, et al.,
1994). Duckweed grows on water with relatively high levels of N, P
and K. It concentrates the minerals and synthesizes protein and
therefore, duckweed can clearly supply the protein needs of aquaculture.
Within recent times and in response to changing environmental
conditions duckweed has been identified as a possible feed source
for aquaculture. This system is being promoted through “increasing
productivity of small farmers by integrating duckweed production
with fish farming”. This project described collectively as Integrated
Farming Systems (IFS), utilizes animal waste to produce biogas via
a bio-digester and the effluent would be used to fertilize duckweed
ponds and the duckweed can then be used to feed aquaculture,
particularly tilapia, poultry and pigs.
When conditions are ideal, in terms of water temperature, pH, incident
light and nutrient concentrations they compete in terms of biomass
production with the most vigorous photosynthetic terrestrial
plants doubling their biomass in between 16 hours and 2 days, depending
on conditions. Baseline data collected from the local environment
reveals that duckweed tissue is 97.5% water and 2.5 % dry
matter, growing well under an average pH of 7.58. The primary
macro nutrients (N, P, K), followed by the secondary macro nutrients
(Mg and Ca) occurred in greater abundance over the micronutrients
and other metals found in the duckweed tissue, indicating the
nutritive quality of duckweed. Also an evaluation of the water quality
that supported the growth of the duckweed discussed above followed
a similar pattern of distribution of minerals namely; primary
macronutrients were in greater abundance, followed by the secondary
macronutrients. This therefore indicated that water quality does
have an influence on the nutritive content of duckweed’s tissue.
It therefore implies that duckweed farming will have a two-fold impact
on environmental sustainability since it reduces the impact
from polluted water by accumulating vital minerals and converting it
to usable forms and secondly by aiding in food security by providing
a cheaper alternative food source for aquaculture and other animals.
The actual application of the duckweed as a food source is
widely promoted in many countries. Therefore, in order to reduced
environmental pollution and enhance food security the duckweed
initiative should be supported.
Proper Well Construction Techniques and Well Field Management
in the Caribbean and Central America: From Water Supply
Investigations to Analysis and Design by Sandy Nettles
Ocean Earth Technologies (OET) has been involved in a multitude
of hydrogeologic investigations and well field design projects
throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Recently it has
become apparent that water supply shortages and increasing populations,
combined with inefficient well field operation and production
well design, are resulting in serious concerns regarding water supply
throughout the Caribbean. Our extensive experience in optimizing
specific wells to maximize their efficiency and longevity in
unique environments has resulted in the successful rehabilitation
and/or design of new water supply systems. OET typically incorporates
geophysical mapping into our full-scale hydrogeologic evalua-
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FIFTH BIENNIAL CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM AND EXHIBITION