Water covers two tierces ( 2/3 ) of Earth ‘s surface with over 90 seven per centum ( 97 % ) in oceans and merely three per centum ( 3 % ) is freshwater from watercourses, lakes, aquifers and land H2O, with most of it trapped in ice caps and glaciers. Less than one per centum ( 1 % ) of all fresh water is readily accessible for human usage. Water makes up 60 per centum ( 60 % ) of our organic structure, 70 per centum ( 70 % ) of our encephalon and 80 per centum ( 80 % ) of our blood. A human being can travel about a month without nutrient, but you can non last more than one hebdomad without H2O.
Water pollution can be defined as any chemical or physical alteration in H2O that is damaging to populating being.
There are two chief beginnings of H2O pollution, point beginnings and non-point beginnings from which pollutants enter the environment ( H2O organic structures ) . Point beginnings are from a specific location e.g. waste pipes. They are more easy controlled because the nature of the pollutant and measure can be easy determined. Unlike non-point beginning that are much harder to turn up and command, it is associated with run-off from land, and has no specific discharge point.
Discussion
In Trinidad and Tobago H2O is largely used for domestic, agribusiness and industrial intents and our chief beginnings of pollution are associated with them. Domestic – natural sewerage and solid waste ( refuse ) , Agriculture – tally of from Fieldss and harvests incorporating fertilisers and pesticides. Industries – H2O intervention, solid waste, lubricating oils, chemicals and Oil spills.
There is a figure of bing statute law for covering with H2O pollution in Trinidad and Tobago below is a list of a few:
Section 29 ( 1 ) ( J ) of the Petroleum Act ( chap.61:02 ) provides for the devising of ordinances to forestall H2O pollution and for compensation. Regulation 3 of the crude oil ( pollution Compensation ) Regulations made pursuant to Section 29 ( 1 ) ( J ) of the crude oil Act, outlines the offenses of oil pollution. Regulation 42 ( 2 ) ( hundred ) of the Petroleum Regulations, requires a licence to take safeguard to avoid pollution of tidal rivers. Regulation 11 of Part II of the Petroleum ( Testing, Storage, etc. ) Regulations, prohibits the flight of petroleum crude oil, crude oil or unsafe crude oil stored under the ordinance into an recess or drain communication with a public drain or storage.
Regulation 20 ( 4 ) of the Drilling Regulations made pursuant to the Mines, Borings and preies Plugging of Wellss that could foul H2O.
Second Schedule, Part IV, paragraph 8 of the Town and state Planning Act ( chap 81:01 ) ( rpm. 1980 ) provides that development programs can do commissariats for prohibiting of pollution of rivers etc.
Litter Act ( fellow. 30:52 ) as amended by the Litter ( Amendment ) Act ( 1981 ) , Section 3 ( 1 ) provinces that littering occurs when a individual without sensible alibi deposits any litter in a public topographic point other than an authorised aggregation point or receptacle i.e. public topographic point which is everyplace that the populace has entree to including any H2O organic structure. Section 2 ( 1 ) of the Litter Act, premises includes natural watercourses and drains.
Section 18 ( 1 ) of the Waterworks and Water conversation Act ( fellow. 54:44 ) prohibits pollution of Waterss.
Public Health Ordinance Sections 36 ( 1 ) , 37, 55-60, 68,70 and 80- Sets our government for covering with H2O pollution.
Municipal Corporation Act ( no. 21 of 1990 ) subdivision 232 ( vitamin E ) building and care of all drains and watercourses except chief water-courses and main road H2O classs falls under the Municipal Corporation. Section 145 prohibits hindering of H2O classs.
Section 42 of the Water and Sewerage Authority Act ( fellow. 54:40 ) provinces that WASA is responsible for maintain and developing the water company ; for administrating the supply of H2O ; advancing the preservation and proper usage of H2O resources. Section 51 ( 1 ) commissariats for the devising of ordinances for protecting H2O resources from pollution.
Prevention of Water Pollution ( Quare River and Valencia ) Bye Laws Section 53 ( 1 ) sates any individual who allows to be polluted any spring, good or adit, the H2O from which is used or likely to be used for human ingestion, or domestic intents, or for fabricating nutrient or drink for human ingestion can be held apt.
Standards Act No. 18 of 1997, Section 15 ( 1 ) – gives power to do environmental criterions.
Environmental Management Act. Section 52- Management of Water Pollution
( 1 ) The Authority shall, every bit shortly as operable after the beginning of this Act, look into the environment by and large and such premises and vehicles as it thinks necessary for the intents of-
( a ) determining the extent of H2O pollution and important beginnings of H2O pollutants ;
and
( B ) characterising or depicting that pollution
2 ) The Authority shall do a registry of H2O pollutants to be maintained as prescribed by regulation, which shall incorporate informations placing the measure, conditions or concentrations relevant to the designation of each pollutants.
( 3 ) The Authority shall develop and implement a programme for the direction of such pollution which shall include the enrollment and farther word picture of important beginnings of any on-going or intermittent releases of H2O pollutants into the environment.
Section 53 – Water pollution Licenses
( 1 ) The Authority may necessitate and allow licenses to empower any procedure releasing H2O pollutants subject to such footings and conditions as it thinks tantrum.
( 2 ) The footings and conditions of a license may associate to the design, building, operation,
care and monitoring of the installations and procedures let go ofing H2O pollutants.
( 3 ) A individual shall use to the Authority for the grant of a H2O pollution license in conformity with the signifier as determined by the Authority.
Section 54 – Forbiding Water Pollution
No individual shall let go of or do to be released any H2O pollutant into the environment which is in misdemeanor of any applicable criterions, conditions or license demands under this Act.
Water Pollution Rules 2001. Section 4 ( 5 )
Unless otherwise authorized under sub-rules ( 1 ) , ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) , no individual shall let the release of a H2O pollutant from a registrable-facility.
Section 4 ( 6 ) – Sub-rules ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) do non use to-
( a ) operational releases from motor vehicles ;
( B ) releases from families except where such families contain industrial or commercial installations ; or
( degree Celsius ) releases authorized by a competent governmental entity into sewage installations owned or operated by such competent governmental entity.
Section 5. Prohibition against release of H2O pollutants. ( 1 ) A individual shall non let go of a H2O pollutant into any H2O approved by a competent governmental entity for human ingestion without intervention or where intervention has been limited entirely to disinfection.
( 2 ) A individual shall non let go of a H2O pollutant into groundwater where-
( a ) the groundwater is vulnerable to taint because of the hydrological features of the country under which the groundwater occurs ;
( B ) no alternate beginning of imbibing H2O is available to significant current or future populations ;
( degree Celsius ) the aquifer provides the base flow for a sensitive ecological system ;
( vitamin D ) the release of a H2O pollutant may destruct a alone home ground ; or
( vitamin E ) the groundwater is a current or possible beginning of imbibing H2O or has some other good usage.
Decision
The H2O pollution regulations 2001 was laid in the House of Representatives on 20 September 2001 and subsequently in the Senate on 29 September 2001 but did non travel through the full negative declaration procedure so the EMA has non treated the regulations as jurisprudence.
Monitoring of H2O quality in Trinidad and Tobago has been given low precedence and there is no coordination between bureaus.
Problems associated with enforcement of statute law are as follows:
Insufficient resources – fiscal resources for installations, adult male power, laboratory equipment and research,
Number of enforcement bureaus in Trinidad and Tobago is great ; this creates jobs with overlapping of legal power and deficiency of co-operation between bureaus.
Lax attitude and corruptness – small or no enforcement actions initiated under the assorted pieces of statute law and allegations of corruptness with non-enforcement of relevant Torahs even though there has been no cogent evidence of misconduct the initial allegations are a affair of concern.
Lack of punitory countenances – the punishments for interrupting the jurisprudence are so low that it appears to be more cost-efficient to interrupt the jurisprudence and pay the all right than to halt from interrupting the jurisprudence.
Limited public instruction plans -minimal or no public consciousness of the harmful effects of human behaviour on the environment.
Trinidad and Tobago must cut down the volume of pollutants come ining its H2O organic structures, more enforcement of bing statute law and public consciousness on the importance of preservation. We all need H2O to last so why foul our most basic demand.
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