HILARY HOSIA
Even limited to a four-man team, the Environmental Protection Authority on Ebeye continues to ensure drinking water is safe for public consumption on top of its many tasks.
Ebeye’s miniature stature EPA (compared to Majuro) is an advantage for the EPA crew when it comes to conducting water quality tests, which EPA does twice a month.
At the beginning and towards the end of the month, Water Quality Technician Handel Dribo collects water from the Ebeye public tab and ice dispenser at the Marshall Islands Maritime Resources Authority.
“These are the two public places that people go to for their drinking water,” Handel told the Journal last week. Handel collects samples from these two sites and runs tests at the EPA lab. Results come out within 24 hours, Handel added.
If the result shows contamination of the water samples, then EPA is mandated to shut down the public tap or the ice-making center. “We’ve had shut downs in the past,” Handel said. “We can also visit and run tests on any given day or as needed by customers and the public,” he added. Handel said at times, whenever EPA staff visit these sites, even when they are off duty, he could see a sense of nervousness from the workers. At one point, Handel said he was going to fetch ice for his house when he heard the workers whispering to themselves: “You checked the water quality?”
The EPA crew consists of three males and one female staff: Lola Lanej, Malolo Malolo, Handel Dribo and Patlee deBrum.
Since its establishment on Ebeye, EPA has been housed at the Lerooj Kitlang Kabua Memorial Hospital before relocating to the Ebeye Marshall Islands Resort. EPA currently rents space from Namdrik Nitijela Member Wise Zackhras next to the Power Plant.