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The unthinkable

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources issued a statement saying the water quality at Hart Bay and Chocolate Hole does not meet safety standards.  A report by the St. John Source  quoted commissioner Dean Plaskett’s office saying people should not swim or fish in the bays and parents should keep children away.  The Department said it would monitor the water, but currently there is an "increased health risk to anyone swimming in these areas as a result of an increased concentration of bacteria," the Source said.  The cause of the contamination was not identified.  Water quality testing was initiated after Hurricane Jeanne blew through the territory.  "All persons should be aware that storm water runoff may contain contaminants or pollutants harmful to human health," a DPNR statement said, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News.  A spokesman for the department said it is testing water quality weekly at 43 beaches

Meanwhile, the Coral Bay Community Council is calling on residents to
help clean the area’s waterfront this weekend. "There’s a lot of
leftover junk and debris around. There’s a year’s worth of litter," Sharon Coldren, president of the Coral Bay Community Council, told the Source.

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