Statia students collect water samples for agricultural monitoring study

Students in the New Challenges Foundation Empowerment Programme collected samples from four water sources on St. Eustatius on Friday 23 October. The exercise was designed to establish baseline data for later comparisons, according to Sara Stone, Island Coordinator of the Agrivoltaics Project at the STUCO Solar Park.

The group sampled an open pond and rainwater catchment cistern at the STUCO Solar Park, a groundwater well at Made in Statia, and water processed through the XPLORIT reverse-osmosis system. Participants tested pH, electrical conductivity, salinity, turbidity and other chemical indicators. Stone said the samples were assessed for potential agricultural uses, including irrigation, rather than drinking-water suitability.

Representatives of the World Wildlife Fund from the Netherlands and Curaçao, and the Unit of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, joined the activity. Stone said some results need interpretation and verification before a report presents the findings and their implications for agricultural water management.

Stone said quarterly monitoring and comparative analysis are planned as part of a longer-term environmental record. Future activities could include observations of air temperature, humidity and cloud cover using methods consistent with the GLOBE environmental learning programme.