Overflowing water from mangrove channel plaguing Falmouth

I AM writing with reference to Janice Allen’s article in In Focus, Sunday Gleaner of May 14, asking questions about the delay in delivering the long-promised Falmouth Artisan Village.

As important as that is for the economic benefit of the stakeholders, I would like to bring attention to a potential health issue which, it seems, has escaped the notice of the municipal corporation and the public health leadership in Falmouth.

I am referring to the rising mangrove water channel levels along the ‘dragline’ road which can be seen from white bridge on Market Street. One can see floating plastic containers of all kinds and other garbage which are choking the water from flowing freely westwards into the sea at Half Moon Bay.

I remember when I was a boy, the waterway had a beautiful green hue with table-sized fishes like mullets, tarpons, perch and even grunts swimming in the healthy mangrove water. Many people used to go and fish there along the banks of the waterway. Now that is just a memory.

Falmouth is plagued by sewage overflows on the roads (which are below sea level) whenever there is a long, heavy spells of rain. The mangroves are there to absorb the excess rain water and the channel it to the sea – they are a conduit for timely drainage of the water from the road network in the town proper.

I am requesting, through this medium, to highlight the potential health risks as a result of the rising, stagnant water which is almost is in the backyards of the many people who live on Wakeland Drive, which runs parallel to the mangrove channel.

Maybe some long-term action will be taken, when this issue in more in the public domain, to permanently address this situation where smelly water is plaguing Falmouth. This is a town where many pronouncements are being made to make it an attractive place for the residents and for the tourists alike.