Baby steps to preserve our most precious resource

By Cristina Zenato

Cave diving Instructor

Cave Explorer

I moved to the Bahamas in 1994 and my first impression of these islands was the one I still receive 18 years later: flat.

My first question about drinking water prompted a matter of fact reply that fresh drinking water was plentiful and directly out of the tap. In a land with no mountains, snow, glaciers, lakes, rivers, no rain tanks, no reservoirs, there was plenty fresh water: my curiosity was triggered.

I then found out that it came out directly from the ground. To some of us it would make sense that simple explanation, but, coming from a totally different geological background, I founded it fascinating. Together with my fascination I found the caves. The Bahamas were, before the discovery of Mexican caves, the place with the world largest underwater cave system.

Between Ocean Blue Holes and land based holes we can count easily three dozens on Grand Bahama alone. And these caves, combined with a very simple and delicate filtration system, contain the Bahamian Gold: fresh drinking water.

It has been stated and proved that the richness of the future will be the capability of providing fresh water for populations. There are places on Earth where people walk two to four hours a day to collect a jar of fresh water, which will sustain a family of four until the next trip the following day. Without water there is no life, quickly.

The cycle is very simple in its explanation: rain water hits the ground, covered in layers of vegetation and shrubs, mixes with organic and inorganic matters, passes through the precious, yet unrated, limestone terrain and it's naturally filtered. Once it finds the cavities of the cave systems it floats on top of the saltwater layer coming in from the ocean. Close to shore, the lens of freshwater is thinner, closer to the core of the island, thicker.

This fresh water supply has been used since people have lived on these islands. Take an excursion to the Lucayan National Park and listen to the guides and taxi drivers telling about the Lucayans, the first Bahamians, who came to the hole with carriages and buckets. Everybody knew, everybody knows about the fresh water, but not everybody might be aware of its delicate presence.

The limestone and the vegetation are key components to the survival of our fresh water

Human actions are a concern when related to both of those elements.

Although many Bahamians are very keen on keeping the Bahamas clean and many strong initiatives continue to promote a better disposal of garbage and household items, we cannot deny that we are still far from understanding the complete consequences of our actions.

I walk the forest of the island looking for cave entrances, I scout through areas with or without settlements, I explore the uncharted ways under our own feet and it's very obvious that we still have not made the complete connection between our behavior and the future of our water supply.

Abandoned household items with dangerous components in them, such as computer screens, fridges, water heaters, stoves, but also cars, boats, batteries, paint not to mention garbage of various origins, plastic, glass, wood, organic and inorganic, clutter the underbrush of the island.

I was personally advised by a mechanic to dump the old diesel fuel of my car in the bush.

And let's just for a moment consider the amount of dripping oil and fuel our cars lose constantly and is washed by rain water through the same soil and back into the ocean.

To better understand how these items can affect our water supply let's take a very simple visual example: your Brita filter.

More or less we are all very familiar with the concept: we pour water in the top part of the pitcher, consider it the rain, it filters through the carbon particles, consider it our limestone and it ends up in our bottom part clean and ready to be drank, our fresh water supply in the caves.

Now imagine pouring diesel, oil and some car battery acid through the same Brita filter, wash it down a couple of times with few more water filtrations, and then imagine drinking the water after that.

Would you? I think not. You well know that the filter has been contaminated and damaged for good. You well know that if you are going to drink that water, even if you passed water through it several times prior, residue of oil, diesel and acid have remained and they are going to be absorbed in your body.

Now consider this: the Bahamas, your country, are this wonderful Brita filter. A natural gift that has made life on these rough terrain islands possible and continues to make it possible.

Living on these islands has not been easy and to this day is still difficult.

The terrain is harsh, water disappears as soon as it lands, and agriculture is nearly impossible if not with great effort.

We rely on other forms of income and with the arrival of a more developed world we look at the Shipyard, Container Port, Bahama Rock, and tourism.

We could sit here and find several excuses why it would be pointless to worry and change our own ways, our behavior and thinking. But we need to grasp conscience of our role and our influence.

People can move entire countries. It is in the benefit of everybody, to conserve and demand the water supply to be preserved.

What kind of daily actions can help us preserve our gold?

We can start from our back yard.

We can check our sprinklers, making sure they do not run on a rainy day, adding a simple rain check device.

We can remember the cycle of the water and use Sanitation Services to pick up our items and garbage, instead of dumping them in the bush.

We can think recycle, reuse before dumping.

We can request the safe guard of special places, land over cave systems and underwater passages.

We can remember that everything that goes into the ocean will eventually return to us through our faucets.

We can keep our garbage in the car until we get to the next trash can, we can take the garbage away at the end of our beach party, the same way we brought food there.

We can lead by example and educate our younger generations, for it's primarily for them that we need to preserve, after all, and I quote:

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

© 2012 The Freeport News