Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 17, 2015 (SKNIS)—Minister of Public Infrastructure, Honourable Ian Patches Liburd, is open to the idea of construction on the Basseterre Valley Aquifer area. Some community interests have supported the idea in the past of restricting development on the Basseterre Valley Aquifer in the interest of protecting it due to its value in the island’s water supply.
However, the minister in the most recent episode of “Working For You,” was keen to point out that there are ways in which construction can take place on the aquifer without compromising it.
“The studies they used from the 1970’s were what they called borehole techniques. We are doing MER, which is Multi-Electrode Resistivity technique which tells you what is happening below the surface 100 feet and beyond so I think we have to get up to speed,” Minister Liburd said.
The Basseterre Valley Aquifer, Minister Liburd said, spans the Olivees Mountains on the West, the Canada Hills in the northeast and the Conaree Hills on the east. MER defines the thickness and the extent of the aquifer to delineate the distribution of sediments throughout the aquifer.
“I do not agree that we cannot use the area of east Basseterre. We can use the area and we can build with certain requirements. We ought to move pass the septic. We have to go with modern technology…now we use sewage systems,” the minister said.”
Meanwhile, the minister who is the Member of Parliament for East Basseterre, was asked by a caller to the programme about plans for agriculture in his constituency and the use of agricultural lands in the proximity of the Basseterre Valley Aquifer. He said in this instance, farmers would have to be careful especially with the use of herbicides and other chemicals.
He was also asked about recommendations to address the monkey problem plaguing farmers. The minister said several things could be pursued to solve this problem but urged caution when making reference to eradication of the monkeys due to the concerns emanating from international animal rights groups that could put pressure on the reputation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
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