The T&T Guardian checked outside the compound of a company which residents claimed was the source of the WASA contamination.
There was a black substance smelling like diesel that turned the dirt outside the compound black. This substance was found outside the wall that was in front of a large storage tank on the compound.
It was also observed that concrete, which looked like it was laid recently, had been placed on top of an area where there was more black-stained soil.
Some of the black-stained soil was seen inside the drain in front of the tank but the dirt was not seen along the drain course where the water flowed into the river.
Asked why the drains were not stained with diesel, the residents said the company had cleaned the drain. However, moss and other silt was visible in the drain. However, the residents claimed that people from the company placed silt and moss in the drain to make it look as though the area had not been cleaned recently.
T&T Guardian spoke to a supervisor from the company and he claimed that the tank in question was no longer in use and there was no spill. He further added that there would be no life like tadpoles or frogs in the drain had there been a diesel spill.
In 2012, the EMA was called in to investigate the same company after oil was discarded into a drain and ended up near the water treatment.
On Wednesday, the EMA identified two areas, Carapo and Manuel Congo, San Raphael, as possible sources of where the leaks began but farmers yesterday told the T&T Guardian if such a contamination had started further upstream plant and fish life would have been affected.
Contacted last night, WASA’s head of communications Daniel Plenty said they were not aware that any WASA vehicle had been dispatched in that area to investigate any leak.
EMA communications officer Nicole Bachan also said she was unaware of any complaint of contamination in the area but said the EMA would look into the matter.
Minister of the Environment and Water Resources Ganga Singh is scheduled to tour the treatment plant today and two of the 61 schools which were forced to send students home early on Wednesday due to the problem. Some of those schools yesterday again dismissed early as a precaution.