KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Water Resources Authority of Jamaica (WRA) is imploring farmers to use fertilisers safely and responsibly to prevent contamination of water sources.

Addressing a recent JIS Think Tank, Deputy Managing Director at the WRA, Geoffrey Marshall, said that proper agricultural practices prevent adverse effects on both ground and surface water.

“Be careful of how you use fertiliser because it can run off in the river,” he said, urging the use of non-toxic products as much as possible.

Marshall said there needs to be general awareness that “the actions we do in our environment have a butterfly effect somewhere else”.

As such, he advised that “for whatever fertiliser you are using, ensure that there is a plan to collect or to prevent the runoff from going into the environment. Farmers should also be careful of the kinds of pesticides they are using as well. We need to monitor the presence of pesticides and other kinds of toxic organic compounds that may come in the water from different sources.”

Marshall is also reminding individuals to avoid polluting and littering waterways and sinkholes.

“A lot of people will wash cars, but it is illegal to wash your car in a river. People also see sinkholes and toss everything in there – their trash, sewage water, etc., but those sinkholes are direct conduits into the ground water below,” he pointed out.

“If you put those things there, then you are going to see that the water that comes up eventually might be polluted. All of us need to be aware that we live in our environment, and when we protect it, it protects us in the long term,” Marshall said.

–       JIS