schools closed after water quality alert

The mayors of the Guadeloupean municipalities of Pointe-à-Pitre and Abymes decided, on Sunday October 8, in the evening, to close their schools after issuing an alert on the non-drinkable nature of the water. In Abymes, the most populated commune in the overseas department, Mayor Eric Jalton informed his residents of the closure of “all schools in the area and the municipal nursery” Monday. “The mayor remains awaiting the conclusions of the controls” of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) to decide on the “follow-up to be given in the coming days”, specifies a press release. The councilor of Pointe-à-Pitre, Harry Durimel also announced that the schools in the town would be closed. “until further notice”.

Friday, the single organization for the management of drinking water in the overseas territory, the Joint Syndicate for Water and Sanitation Management of Guadeloupe (SMGEAG), issued an alert on the “non-potability” some water. He also sent a letter from the ARS, which reports a “suspicion of microbiological contamination of reservoir water” for these two municipalities. Water quality checks were carried out there after the passage of storm Philippe, which caused significant rain and flooding in the archipelago.

The Vivre association, committed to defending users’ rights and known for its action in the chlordecone affair, affirmed on Saturday that “100,000 users are affected by a double shortage of drinking water and yet another pollution by various materials”. She also recalled the additional costs paid by families obliged to compensate for a public service “totally defective” and the “hundreds of school teaching hours lost” due to the recurrent closure of establishments facing shortages or prohibitions on consuming water. At the end of September, SMGEAG was also alarmed by the state of water management in the archipelago, which has suffered water cuts and poor sanitation for decades.