Poor water quality? We don't care

Ho Lian-Yi, New Paper 3 Aug 08;

HALF-submerged, standing several metres off Pasir Ris Beach, Mr Mansor Abdullah cast his net into the sea.

Earlier this week, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) had declared that it was not safe to swim at this beach.

After more than an hour, Mr Mansor waded back to shore with his net and a basket holding six wriggling fish.

The 31-year-old storekeeper, his T-shirt and jeans soggy after his evening dip on Thursday, said: 'The NEA can have their say, but I'm used to it.'

And what is he going to do with the fish?

'Eat, lah,' he replied.

He was not turned off by the agency's warning that the water has a high level of a kind of bacteria that is found in faeces, and can cause stomach and gut diseases and eye infections.

Accidental gulps of seawater are inevitable, he said, but nothing has happened so far.

Despite having read the warning about the area in the papers, Mr Mansor still considers Pasir Ris Beach his favourite fishing haunt.

He visits the beach every day after work and fishes there several days a week.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Mr Mansor said that he had been stung bystingrays and catfish, and claims to have encountered 'ghosts' - so what is some bacteria?

'I know how to take care of myself,' he insisted.

He said he would stop going into the water only if a ban was imposed.

Watching Mr Mansor fish were two buddies, retired beach cleaner Ahmad Othman, 58, and retired cabin service provider Madon Haron, 62.

Neither were as brazen as Mr Mansor. Both men are also avid fishermen but they have decided not to fish for the time being.

As Mr Madon watched his friend, he wondered: 'Can the fish be eaten or not?'

The New Paper on Sunday put the question to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

The answer? No problem.

AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong said: 'The tests show that food-poisoning bacteria like salmonella, vibro species and e.coli are not present. We will continue to monitor the fish farms.'

Just make sure you cook the fish first, is the advice.

Even before AVA's assurance, many fishermen had decided to keep fishing.

Many anglers were at nearby Pasir Ris Fishing Pond, a seawater fishing area where patrons pay to fish.

The boss of the attraction, Mr Phua Long Hay, 50, said he didn't expect the NEA warning to affect his business.

'Fishermen can see if you maintain the water well,' he said, adding that the water was regularly checked.

The water in the pond comes from the sea - seawater is pumped in once a month. Otherwise, the sea is cut off from the pond.

Mr Phua said he had instruments to check the water quality. He also checks with the offshore kelongs, where he buys the fish, as to whether the seawater is okay.

'If the water is bad, it will have a bit of (brown) colour,' he said.

An employee in charge of the water, who wanted to be known as Mr Goh, said each pumping takes nearly three hours and the water can usually last a month.

The fishing pond's customers were also unfazed by the NEA warning.

Mr Paul Chua, 57, a surveyor, said the fish in the pond were from Malaysia, so they wouldn't be contaminated.

'The contamination (of the sea) is just a matter of degree, it depends on the standard (of measurement),' he said.

STRICTER STANDARDS

NEA had said the bacteria levels have not risen, but the water quality has been graded under new, stringent standards by the World Health Organisation.

Another patron there said he was not worried because he throws his catch back into the pond.

And yet another, a 43-year-old technician who has been fishing for 10 years, said: 'The sea is so big, how bad can it be?'.

A 70-year-old retired teacher, who calls himself Mr Wong, said the seawater is bad for people but okay for fish.

As he spoke, he got another bite - his fifth catch of the day.

As he reeled in the red snapper, which thrashed in the water, he said: 'See how vigorous it is! Does it look sick to you?'

Pasir Risk Beach?
Beach regulars note 50% drop in number of visitors but many still unaware of NEA warning about high levels of a bacteria in the sea
Alvin Lim , Gabriel Yue, Straits Times 3 Aug 08;

Kiosk-owner Abdul Rahman Wee earned $150 yesterday, half of what he used to get on Saturdays.

His kiosk, which offers tidbits and kites at Pasir Ris Beach, used to draw an average of 30 to 40 customers a day and about 200 people on weekends.

But after the National Environment Agency (NEA) said last Wednesday that there are high levels of enterococcus, a bacteria in the fecal matter of warm-blooded animals, in the sea, business has dipped.

Exposure to the bacteria could trigger illnesses such as diarrhoea and conjunctivitis.

'There has been a 50 per cent drop in the number of visitors,' lamented Mr Abdul Rahman, 65, who has been running the kiosk for six years.

He added: 'I think this is just like the Sars period when few came to the beach.'

He is not too worried about his overheads for now. In exchange for maintaining the public toilets at his kiosk for free, he does not pay any rental to landlord National Parks Board.

Some beach regulars also felt that there were half the number of visitors on a weekend.

National serviceman Izwan Jalil, 22, said: 'I fish here every week and there seems to be a lot fewer people today. Maybe people are afraid because of the warning.'

The NEA has posted signs on the beach advising against contact with the water.

Still, The Sunday Times counted about 50 people frolicking in the sea or engaged in water sports at about noon yesterday.

Another 100 people were camped on the beach.

A check revealed that not everyone was aware of the NEA warning.

Among those at the beach were 30 students from Anderson Junior College who had come for a canoeing expedition organised by the People's Association's (PA's) Water-Venture.

Their instructor Kelvin Lai, 35, said he was not aware of the unhealthy water quality.

He said he 'followed the PA guidelines' and had not received any directive to stop taking his charges to Pasir Ris Beach.

'I will provide feedback to the company. Maybe it's better for my students not to come here for now,' he said.

Also unaware of the potential health hazards were 14-year-old Punggol Secondary School students Nazri Rosli, Arif Jumat, Asyraf Buang and Khairul Zainol. They were swimming 20m from the beach.

'I'm not worried because we should be able to wash off the bacteria when we bathe,' said Asyraf.

But Khairul said they would go to East Coast Park next time to 'play safe'.

An NEA spokesman said that the public is advised to refrain from swimming off Pasir Ris Beach until the outcome of the next review in the second half of 2009.

Meanwhile, fishing enthusiasts continue to do battle with the fish.

Said Mr Lew Kim Chang, 47, a supervisor who drops by every week: 'The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has already said that it is safe to eat what we catch here. There shouldn't be a problem, especially since we are going to cook it.'

Public pools here are safe for swimming

A spokesman for the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) said sampling and laboratory analyses of water samples are conducted twice monthly for all 23 swimming complexes under its management.

It appointed a lab, Mechem Consultancy Services, two years ago to conduct the checks.

Dr Yang Lin Jiang, Mechem's chairman, said stringent steps are taken to ensure accurate testing of the samples taken at each pool.

The samples are housed in a sterile container, placed inside an icebox and taken to the lab.

There, analysis is done immediately for

E. coli, enterococcus and algae to see if the results meet the standards set in the Environmental Public Health (Swimming Pools) Regulations.

Ingesting water contaminated with fecal waste released by humans or animals can lead to gastroenteritis, which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

Other diseases include dermatitis, which causes irritation to the skin, and conjunctivitis, which leads to discharge from the eyes and swelling of the eyelids.

Dr Yang said none of the public pools has failed to meet the standards in the past two years.

A National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman said the new World Health Organisation guidelines for recreational beaches are not applicable to public pools.

This is because the NEA already has regulations in place for public pools in swimming complexes, condominiums and country clubs.

Any pool that fails to meet the standards immediately becomes off-limits to the public.

Alvin Lim