The majestic North Stann Creek River runs for 40 miles and winds through the Stann Creek Valley until it empties itself at the bar mouth in Dangriga Town. It's the main vein for the most fertile valley in the country - and is famous for that "sweet, sweet wata" that Lord Rhaburn sang about. It's also what the fishers, farmers, and residents depend on every single day. But tonight valley residents are in an uproar because a part of the river bed is being dug up for the excavation of sand and gravel.
While this isn't something new for them, they're concerned that the effects will be detrimental and will lead to the pollution of their water, which will ultimately affect their livelihoods.
But these residents have questions - is the excavating that's happening inside their river legal? Does the company have a permit? Will anyone come and help them?
Courtney Menzies went south today and has this story.
The North Stann Creek River is the lifeline of the villages and the town that rely on it. But while the residents would prefer for the river to remain pristine and untouched, West End Enterprises has been extracting sand and gravel from the river bed - in an industrial scale operation that's currently in full swing.
It's not the first time it has happened, and the residents say that it's not just digging, it's destruction.
Timothy Baide, Concerned Resident
"Based on my knowledge, I would call this destruction of the North Stann Creek River. Whatever protocols they have to sand mine, I call this destruction of the North Stann Creek River."
"My biggest concern is that they're destroying the habitat of fishes and other aquatic life and they're also causing mass erosion. Alongside that the sediments that go out into the sea, the BWS water system for Dangriga Town, they extract water from this same river to treat it for the residents to use as well. I personally use it to fish as well and I use it to recreate so."
Derick Ical, Concerned Resident
"I got affected directly. I have a farmland beside him. He built a road, this same road, leads all the way along my land. He clogged up 2 streams. Rainy season, my place floods. I went down and explained to him when will you put the culvert?"
"He knows that I went there and spoke to him like a brethren. he built that road 2019, we're talking about 5, 6 years. Nothing. I went lately, put a culvert on the two streams and we're good. i'm tired of them dusting me out. I have a farmland next to him, every dry season, I get dust out."
Shari Acosta, Concerned Resident
"I do have my complaints about the river but I have more complaints about the company, the sandpit area. When they're working, they have their water system working or whatever and there's a drain between my property and going down to the river that everyday, that dirty water goes into the river and that's the view I have most of the time, a dirty river."
"Also another thing, I own a small business, I own a small salon, where people go to for relaxation. Everyday, the noise, the terrible noise, the air pollution, everything, from 6:30am to 6:30pm sometimes later. It's too much. So we need answers."
According to them, they've witnessed their river being dredged on and off for over 5 years, but this time, it's incessant. And they're afraid of what the effects will look like.
Timothy Baide, Concerned Resident
"Erosion on a mass scale, I mean if you're extracting materials, you're moving materials from out of a spot, it has to be replaced from somewhere else so it's erosion on a mass scale and as a matter of fact, they're killing out the fishes, the shrimp, we actually have fresh water shrimp and we also have river worms, fresh water worms that live in the river and then the ducks they come along and eat off the little fishes that try to survive. So again, we have to compete as human beings."
Ivan Williams, Concerned Resident
"Some of the concerns that they have is that the river is constantly being excavated, material being taken out of the river, all year round, without a little time for the river to replenish itself. Because what that does, it makes the river get deeper and deeper and as you all know, the people in this area use the river. There are farmers who need to cross the river, they have issues with crossing. We came just now on a tractor and we couldn't cross the river."
Dina Villafranco, Concerned Resident
"I live in Dangriga. Anything that disrupts nature, especially when it concerns the flow of water, head waters, this is the North Stann Creek River which is clearly what goes through my town, which passes the water treatment plant. When you live in a community where when you don't have that $5 to buy purified water and you have to think about drinking water directly from the pipe, there are some serious concerns about whether or not it is more important to be hydrated or perhaps the amount of chlorine that has to be placed in the water for it to be safe for you to drink."
And now they say they need an urgent intervention before it's too late.
Timothy Baide, Concerned Resident
"To be real honest, I would hope that whatever environmental agencies are out there, they would hear this to help us to protect this North Stann Creek River, this is lthe life of the Stann Creek Valley, this is the jewel, this is the bloodline. And I'm calling out the great honorable, the honorable of all honorables, Mr Cordel Hyde, the heart of the people, the voice of the people. You're the big man in the office at the end of the day, only you could stop all the mining activities going on in the North Stann Creek River. You're the people's voice, protect this environment, protect this North Stann Creek River."
Derick Ical, Concerned Resident
"Let me say this, this isn't a PUDP issue, but it's happening to our river. And if our so called leaders that we have here in Pomona, if they don't know about it, something is wrong with them. If they claim say oh we don't know about it, I don't know what is happening, then I would advise you to check the prime minister for some of his pills."
"A lot of the same people here from Pomona go to Cayo and Burrell Boom, oh my gosh, this place is beautiful. Why is it beautiful? Because they have true leaders, they have leaders that have brains."
"We could also have our beautiful Pomona and that's my main concern."
Shari Acosta, Concerned Resident
"I want them to come out and show us where is the swimming area, where can we swim? There is nowhere on this North Stann Creek River that we can swim. We used to have activities such as river fest, we cannot have that anymore because of all of this destruction, it is destruction."
Dina Villafranco, Concerned Resident
"It is my wish that whoever is in authority can look at this and make decisions for the betterment of the people and the communities that are affected by what is going on here."
We spoke with Michelle Alvarez who is the Director of Mining at the Ministry of Natural Resources. She explained that West End Enterprises is a contractor approved to work under a permit granted to a private company.
Alvarez added that the villagers are correct to be concerned because they were building a road across the river which the mining department doesn't permit. She says the West End workers had accidentally traveled too far upstream and were building that road to get to an area on the other side. When her office received a complaint from CPBL they reached out to West End, and the owner communicated to the workers that they needed to return to the area where they are allowed to work. He told the ministry that it was just a misunderstanding.
So now, West End was ordered to restore that area where they were wrongly excavating and return to the area where they belong. The mining department was just there on Tuesday to ensure that their instructions were being followed. Alvarez added that that area is prized for sand and gravel and that it regenerates after every rainy season.
She also explained that the department conducts monitoring twice every quarter and ensures that there are enough resources available before issuing the permits.
