By B.B
For Horizon

President Tommy Remengesau has advised the public to begin conserving water in preparation for the dry season (El Nino), which the US National Weather Service said could have severe effects on the islands in the central Western Pacific ( Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Saipan and Palau) between February and August this year. We thank the President for his important and timely advice.
The President’s advisory should also be passed on to the Government offices and agencies responsible for the security and maintenance of the country’s water supplies, including the readiness of standby water sources for immediate use when needed. We regret to report, however, that if the water reservoirs at Ngerikiil in Airai were to dry up or experience serious damages, the majority of the country’s population on Koror would face severe water shortages because all the back-up water sources on Koror have not been properly maintained and could not be put into immediate use. Some have been damaged so severely that it may take many months, and lots of money, to get them back to service again.
I recently visited the two major back-up water reservoirs, one at Malakal and the other at Ngesaol, to see if they could supply water to the community should they be needed in the weeks and months immediately ahead.
What I saw disgusted me. The holding concrete tank in Malakal is in such deplorable condition the EQPB should declare it a threat to the health of the community. All kinds of trash, including plastic bottles, have been thrown inside the concrete tank and were floating on the water inside. I did not have the stomach to imagine the kind of solid wastes that might be were resting at the bottom of that tank. The reservoir at Ngesaol was in the same deplorable condition as the Malakal holding tank. However, the atrocities inside both the Malakal and Ngesaol holding tanks paled compared to what I saw in the natural depression next to the back wall of the Malakal reservoirs, which feed water from the Malakal Mountain nearby into the holding tank.
Some people or companies in Malakal have been using that spot as a garbage dump. I counted 52 large black plastic bags containing all kinds of trash inside that water source for the Malakal holding tank. These bags were visible because they were just the top of what apparently had been used for a long time as a garbage dump. The polluted water source is at the back of the Malakal Water tank and is not visible from the road to Ice Box. That is probably why it has not been noticed by Health and Environmental authorities. The EQPB and the Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Health should inspect the site and take appropriate actions to clean it up before it becomes a full-fledged health problem for the residents of Koror.
11 PNC Sec. 1086 prohibits the use of alcoholic beverages on public places such as parks and recreation areas. Violators could be fined up to $500.00. Despite this warning, however, one could see large amount of discarded beer cans every day under the bridge at Renrak, on long Island, and at Ice Box in Malakal. The Police should conduct regular patrols to these public places to enforce the mandates of 11 PNC Sec. 1086.