Biological survey of silted Konawaruk River to be done

The polluted Konawaruk River with the banks dug up in September last year (SN file photo).

The Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) is making arrangements to conduct a detailed biological assessment of the damaged Konawaruk River and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Envi-ronment has acknowledged the need to increase monitoring of mining operations there.

Stabroek News reported last September that the Konawaruk River in Region Eight is still heavily silted more than a decade after attention was first drawn to the degraded state of the waterway as a result of mining. It had previously been branded a “dead” river – incapable of supporting aquatic life but this has drawn varying views. “It would be difficult to say that without carrying out a proper assessment,” Dr David Singh, the head of Conservation International-Guyana had said. He had pointed out that the period for which the river has remained in a heavily polluted state – 10 to 15 years – is more than the lifespan of aquatic species.

Former head of the GGMC William Woolford, who is now a consultant in the mining industry, however, was adamant that the Region Eight river is not dead. And Major General (rtd) Joseph Singh, who first expressed concern about the state of the river over a decade ago, has said that there is need for a