Following news reports in June, 2018, that the National Roads Authority (NRA) was discharging stormwater well debris into a wetland area off the Linford Pierson Highway, Water Authority – Cayman, the Department of Environment (DOE), the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) and the NRA have partnered to resolve the issue of how to deal with stormwater well waste disposal in a safe, effective manner.

At a meeting on 22 June, 2018, representatives of the Water Authority, NRA and DOE discussed the NRA’s well cleaning programme and the environmental concerns arising from current disposal practices.

Water Authority Water Resources Engineer Hendrik-Jan van Genderen explained that discovering what contaminants are in the stormwater well waste is the first step to figuring out how to dispose of it properly. Although stormwater wells are intended to collect non-toxic rainwater runoff, the Water Authority occasionally receives reports of stormwater wells being used as dumping sites for hazardous substances such as vehicle fluids, cleaning fluids, etc. As a result, the discharge pumped out of these stormwater wells may contain contaminants that would make it unsuitable to discharge into the environment without treatment.

“The Water Authority has agreed to conduct scientific tests to characterise the waste and to get an indication of the level of contaminants,” Mr. van Genderen explained. “Without any specific waste characterisation, it is not possible to confirm what the most suitable disposal option is.”

It is anticipated that this testing will take several weeks to complete. In the meantime, the NRA has halted the well vacuuming programme.

The Water Authority will continue to keep the public informed of its role in resolving this issue. The Water Authority has also pledged to ramp up its public outreach efforts to ensure all residents and businesses know not to use stormwater wells as dumping sites for harmful substances. The Authority currently hosts information on Best Management Practices for stormwater on its website that contains useful information about stormdrains and protecting groundwater.

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The Water Authority is the statutory body responsible for the management of water and wastewater in the Cayman Islands. The Administrative Headquarters is located at 13G Red Gate Road, George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.