Guest Speaker - Wendell Etienne
Water - Supply and Sanitation
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Wendell Etienne, originally in banking and now in communications, is best known for drama and comedy. He recently was employed by WASA in their Communications department and was able to give us a thought-provoking glimpse into the water woes of Trinidad & Tobago.
Although we are a water-rich country, our supply of potable water faces many challenges due to interference of our watersheds by pollution, deforestation, illegal quarrying, unplanned development (squatting), unregulated septic tanks, etc. He explained the processes involved in purifying the water received by the WASA treatment plants and this is expensive, so water should never be wasted. He warned of the chemicals from pesticides, insecticides, and other heavy metal pollutants that filter into the Gulf of Paria, affecting our sea food as well as vegetables on land. The safest thing is to grow your own food.
He also explained how plastic from water bottles can react with the water inside them, causing symptoms such as anger and dementia. Our citizens need to change their behaviour to protect our drinking water and our food supply. Wendell referred to an Adopt-A-River programme being implemented by WASA for schools, etc. This was a riveting and sobering presentation and we are grateful to Wendell for sharing with us.