Rudolph Brown, Staff Photographer
Manchester residents having fun in the waters formed during recent flood rains.Omar Anderson, Staff Reporter
A beach in Manchester?
Well, a few months ago, the nearest residents in Manchester could get to a beach was Alligator Pond which is located in the neighbouring St. Elizabeth, on the parish border at the foot of Spur Tree hill.
But, bless or curse the heavy rains last month, residents in the usually sleepy parish are now boasting that the island's newest bathing facility has literally arisen in their backyards, where cow and pig pens and fowl roosts once stood.
The splishing, splashing and laughter of the swimmers in the rising waters in the districts of Redberry, Trinity and Porus attract the curious.
The evidence of the danger of the rising underground water could be seen in the severe damage to the Trinity main road, to the point where vehicular traffic is being diverted to other routes.
Even so, the clear and impending danger the waters present do not deter the swimmers, some of whom are convinced that the Government should be investing in the new 'attraction'.
Health risks
But residents in these communities risk drowning or contracting diseases from the large pools of stagnant water, even while local authorities try desperately to control the continuous flow in these communities.
Since last Monday, Redberry residents have turned one of the large bodies of water into a beach they now call Jingles.
When The Sunday Gleaner visited the area last week, a number of residents, including children, swam at Jingles Beach which was once the site of a cow and pig pen.
Music also filled the air as residents had a whale of a time in their newly-found facility that compensates for the lack of sea in the central Jamaica parish.
But Dr. Michael Coombs, medical officer of health for Manchester, said yesterday through a receptionist that health inspectors have already visited the affected areas and have noticed the impending dangers swimming poses.
He said signs will be installed to warn residents not to either swim or drink water from these pools.
Meanwhile, Basil Fernandez, managing director of the Water Resources Authority (WRA), has specifically warned residents against swimming in these pools of water.
"...Persons living close to these flooded areas need to exercise caution and not be adventurous and try to swim in what are dangerous waters," he said in a press release last Thursday.
He also said his organisation is measuring the flow from various springs to determine the drainage rate and to calculate the time frame over which the water table would be sufficiently lowered to reduce the flooding in Redberry and Scotts Pass.
"It must be emphasised that there is nothing the Government or its agencies can do to stop the water from flowing and the depressions and mined out pits from filling up," he said.
Following the recent heavy rainfalls, Manchester received 1,400 millimetres of rain which was equivalent to a year's downpour.
According to the WRA, underground catchments in Porus and its environs have not been able to store the excess water which has been flowing to the surface and damaging certain roadways, including Trinity main road.
Bauxite operations
While some residents enjoy swimming to fend off the heat, several others in Redberry are blaming bauxite companies for adding to their demise over the years.
James Rowe, 69, is also blaming the Government for granting licences to these bauxite companies whom he accuses of doing extensive drilling and blasting and leaving several large mined-out pits.
In addition, he said the vibration of bauxite trains that pass through Redberry gradually weakens the underground water table.
"We want the Government to monitor what the bauxite companies are doing to the people," he said angrily. "They (bauxite companies) do what they like and get away with it."
Many residents in Redberry said this is the first time several bodies of water have emerged in their quiet district - and causing much havoc at that.
On Thursday, Richard Nelson, a 26-year-old farmer, was building a 50-metre wooden bridge because he and his family had been trapped by the rising water that settled in a pond beside his house.
"Our plan is to build a likkle bridge over the water so we can come out pon de road," he said.
Patrick 'Waggy T' Hinds watched on Thursday as a colleague chopped purposefully at a piece of bamboo which was later weaved with other pieces to make a raft to ferry stranded residents to their homes.
He told The Sunday Gleaner that, while his primary objective was to get residents safely to their homes, he will be forced to charge a "smalls" because of overhead costs in building the raft.
"We have to buy the rope and some bamboo an' we have to buy a bottle a rum to build the vibes, plus we have to smoke cuz I am a "cess" (ganja) man," he said.
