PELICAN, Sint Maarten — The Atrium Resort has taken steps to remediate the outflow drainage at its resort and has also cleaned the area of debris at the Old Simpson Bay Bridge. “We were very happy to see that after discussions with representatives at the hotel the discharge issue was remediated and the drainage was halted. The resort also cleaned up the area of trash and debris immediately behind the resort at the old Simpson Bay Bridge. We are especially grateful for this since this is also included debris illegally dumped, including pallets from a nearby supermarket and from contractors who illegally dump construction material,” commented Tadzio Bervoets, Nature Foundation Manager.
Various stakeholders including residents and tour operators expressed concern related to the water quality of Kim Sha Beach; “Luckily there was no direct effect from this issue on the water quality of Kim Sha, however we strongly suggest that steps be taken to control the wastewater issues being faced by the island. We have been struggling with the amount of requests coming into the Nature Foundation to check wastewater contamination entering into the environment into our wetlands, beaches and neighborhoods,” commented Bervoets.