In hopes of alleviating Coral Bay’s storm-water runoff problem, which turns the harbor brown when it rains, the Coral Bay Community Council will soon begin work on engineering projects at several areas around the Coral Bay watershed.
No exact date is set for the start, but Community Council President Sharon Coldren said at a council meeting Monday held at John’s Folly Learning Institute that work, to be done in conjunction with V.I. Resource Conservation and Development Council (VIRCDC), will wrap up by June 2011.
The project will cost about $1.5 million. Of that figure, $300,000 came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Through VIRCDC, the project got a share of $2.7 million in federal stimulus funds. Coldren said additional money came from other smaller grants.
The project will not include paving roads but does cover things like water bars to divert water away from roadways, retention ponds, drains, culverts, and other engineering efforts to help keep the silt-laden storm water out of Coral Bay.
"We need cooperation to make this happen," Coldren told the nearly 50 people gathered to learn about the project.
That cooperation must come from homeowners, homeowners associations, the Public Works Department, and the Planning and Natural Resources Department because the problems occur on both private and public roads, Coldren said.
While the Community Council grants are funding the engineering and construction work, Coldren said she hopes homeowners associations will decide it’s time to pave its dirt roads. Many roads in the Coral Bay area are paved, but there are areas with unpaved roads.
To determine the project’s success, Coldren said sediment in Coral Bay will be measured before the project starts and after it concludes.
Greg Miller is managing the contracting process for the Coral Bay projects. He said small contractors, including landscapers, are encouraged to bid for jobs.
The Community Council is also looking at cistern water quality. Barry Devine, who oversees this portion of the Community Council’s work, said that the grant money will pay for some sampling. However, he encouraged homeowners to have their cisterns tested in conjunction with the Community Council’s work.
While most of the people at the meeting indicated they had filtration systems on their cistern water supply, Devine said that many people across the territory do not.
"A lot of people do not feel it’s safe to drink their cistern water," he said.
Their cistern water can be contaminated by a variety of things, including bacteria from wildlife and airborne inorganic chemicals, Devine said.
To sign up for cistern testing, call the Community Council office at 776-2099 or Devine at 514-3532.
To reach Miller about the contracting process, call 776-6770.