Whenever newcomers to Macau ask me whether its safe to drink the water, I always give them an emphatic “Yes!” Why I feel pretty sure about this is that, years ago, I met a government official who, as a young engineer in the 70s, came out from Portugal to head the water department. He assured me that our water is “cleaner even than Hong Kong’s”, and then went on to describe the intricate process involved in getting water to our taps. And I would have to agree that our water does seem of a very high quality.
However, the smelly business of waste water, and I specifically refer to the process of disposing of sewage, is a matter that I have less confidence in.
I jog in the early mornings along the waterfront bicycle and running track in front of Ocean Gardens, and at the spot where the new light rail station is being built, my fellow joggers and I literally have to hold our breath to avoid breathing in extremely noxious sewage smells. It is quite apparent that untreated sewage is being allowed to flow out from a source somewhere adjacent to the Ocean Gardens complex and into the narrow strip of water between Taipa and Hengqin Island.
I’d dearly love to find a chemistry student at the university to bring a test kit, hop over the wall and down to the water’s edge and test the murky brown liquid that’s belching out. It’s a scandal in this day and age of hygiene consciousness. How can this be allowed to happen?
At the start of the running track is a very smart display of diagrams and text on ‘Plano Director Dos Novos Aterros’ – basically a consultation of the general public on the proposed land reclamation on Macau-side, and in Taipa, four parcels of land stretching in front of Ocean Gardens and Island Park, past the Amizade ‘Friendship’ Bridge and towards the long awaited new ferry terminal.
What has this got to do with sewage you may ask? Well, two of the areas remind me very much of the reclamation projects off the coast of Dubai called The Palm. An ambitious and exciting project for sure, and it lured numerous well-heeled property investors and film stars to buy there. But oh dear, no one seemed to have factored in the water between the ‘fronds’ of the palm, which even though part of the tidal Gulf, lingers, stagnant and foul smelling.
Back to our own planned reclamation. Lets hope sincerely that this will not happen to us. From what I can see in the consultation drawings, the thin strip of water between the coast and the new land areas could, I fear, in spite of the tide, become trapped leading to more insidious stagnant smells emanating to the surrounding inhabitants.
I’m no ‘tree hugger’, but if the authorities are allowing raw sewage to be piped out into our waterways close to parks and children’s’ play areas, I’m seriously concerned about the lack of care being given to our marine environment today.
www.ambiente.mo
