Devon Evans, Sunday Gleaner Writer

A section of the RIU hotel in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. The hotel is one of several being built by Spanish investors on the island. - File

St. Ann: Members of the board of Mammee Bay Beach Club, representing owners of properties in the Mammee Bay Estate, in St. Ann, say they will be taking court action against the operators of the Riu Hotel for breaches of the Environmental Act.

The decision to take the operators of the hotel to court stems from a long-standing dispute over the frequent pollution of the Mammee Bay Beach by sewage and other waste waters allegedly coming from the hotel.

Chairman of the board of the Mammee Bay Beach Club, Ken Thompson, said the club had utilised all amicable means of getting the hotel to discontinue the alleged pollution of the beach without any success, and that the only other option was to take the matter to court.

He claimed that the latest incident took place on Thursday morning when residents of the community were prevented from having their regular early-morning swim because the entire beach was flooded with discoloured waste water, believed to be coming from the hotel.

Thompson said several of the residents have been complaining of skin rashes after bathing in the sea. He is questioning why the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has not taken any action with regard to this problem the agency has been aware of the situation for many months.

Entry blocked

When The Sunday Gleaner news team visited Mammee Bay on Thursday, a cesspool emptier, escorted by a representative of NEPA, was seen making its way towards the beach. But their entry was blocked by security guards who insisted they should await the arrival of members of the press.

On the beach, a tractor was seen scraping up discoloured sand, which was then used as a barrier to prevent further leakage of effluent on to the beach.

There were also personnel from the Riu Hotel using a water pump to transmit water into a hole dug out by the tractor.

Board member of the club, Herbert Murdock, described the management of Riu Hotel as arrogant and disrespectful of the ordinary Jamaican people. He said for over a year, they have been bringing the matter to the attention of the hotel and that litigation seemed the only sensible recourse to the illegal and unhealthy practice.

Murdock pointed out that, since the construction of the hotel over two years ago, members of his board had been carrying out tests of the waste water polluting the beach and that the results had shown that the bacteria level was way higher than normal and that further evidence was manifested by the effects the water has had on the skin on bathers.

Up to press time yesterday, The Sunday Gleaner was unable to get a response from the management of Riu Hotel.