THE discovery of hazardous levels of E.coli at Grève de Lecq has prompted calls for water-quality testing to be conducted in Island bays all year round.
And the suspected cause of the issue has been revealed by the Infrastructure Department, which discovered a “partial blockage” in a sewer which feeds into one of the nearby pumping stations.
Henry Swithinbank, policy and advocacy manager for the Surfers Against Sewage campaign group, has called on the government to test more often to help “ensure it doesn’t happen again”.
A reading of 3,300 parts E.coli per 100ml of water was recorded in a sample of sea water at Grève de Lecq at the start of last week.
Official warnings were issued for Islanders to avoid swimming in the area, while anyone who had done so – and felt unwell or had health concerns – were urged to speak to their doctor.
A lower reading of 1,800 was documented later in the week and, as of yesterday, the figure had dropped below 800 – but this means the water quality was still over the threshold figure of 500 for a “poor” classification.
Mr Swithinbank said that his UK-wide marine conservation group had taken notice, and pointed out that the government’s current testing regime takes place between May and September each year.
He continued: “The testing should be done year-round, and more frequently as well. Say they hadn’t tested on that particular day – they might not have found those levels.”
He stressed that the government needed to be clear about where the pollution came from “to ensure it doesn’t happen again”.
“Those kind of levels would pose a risk to human health,” he added, noting that the Island’s beaches were getting busier as summer approached.
During yesterday’s sitting of the States Assembly, Environment Minister Steve Luce said that the government did test “regularly” but also that he would “certainly consider” the possibility of doing so all-year-round.
Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said his team had now identified what they believed to have been causing the poor seawater quality and had taken steps to stop any further “discharges” into the bay.
He explained: “It appears there was a partial blockage on the incoming sewer to one of the pumping stations, causing some sewage to overtop the foul sewer and enter the surface water system, which normally carries just the surface water out to sea.
“I’d like to thank the team who quickly isolated the station and found the exact location of the problem, to stop further leakage into the environment.”
