|
-- PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
|
WATER sports organisations are in a tizzy after receiving advisories about unhealthy water quality at two popular areas.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) warned on Wednesday that the waters off Pasir Ris Beach and in Marina Reservoir are unsafe for those sports where total immersion is likely. These include wakeboarding, waterskiing and swimming.
Even sports with less water contact are affected. Kayaking, canoeing and dragon boating, for example, require capsize tests, where athletes must swim back to shore with boats in tow, among other things.
Such tests are a definite no-no in light of the health advisory, which said high levels of a type of bacteria normally found in the faeces of warm-blooded animals were present in the two areas. The bacteria could cause illnesses such as diarrhoea and conjunctivitis.
The loss of Marina Bay as a watersports venue hits enthusiasts hardest. Waterskiers, wakeboarders, canoeists - all are affected. 'It's a headache,' said Mr Henry Sim, secretary of the Singapore Canoe Federation, whose 35 affiliates handle about 30,000 canoeists a year.
Mr Paul Fong, programme director with the Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (SWWF), said the organisation has had to move all its activities to Bedok Reservoir.
SWWF has about 50 wakeboard and ski enthusiasts attending its Marina Reservoir courses every weekend. Organisations like the Singapore Canoe Federation plan to meet PUB officials next Wednesday to come up with a Plan B.
Said Mr Sim: 'We will ask if we can carry our canoes out to the sea, across the pontoon on the marina; it's designed for it.'
Until a decision is made, the federation will conduct its activities at Changi Point or off East Coast Park.
Over at Pasir Ris Beach, the People's Association's (PA) Water-Venture will need to make adjustments. Kayaking and sailing are now carried out there, said Mr Tan Mong Kiang, its assistant director of recreation. Capsize tests will now have to be done at one of the other seven PA outlets, probably Changi.
While organisations are beside themselves trying to heed the advisory, individuals, it seems, could care less.
All eight people spotted by The Straits Times at Pasir Ris Beach yesterday said they did not think the problem is serious and would not curb activities there, which include wading.
Said Mr Isaac Loh, 25, a training officer: 'It's not that dangerous as long as nobody submerges in the water for too long.
'If the water was really that dirty, then all water activities would have been stopped.'
skesava@sph.com.sg
daryltan@sph.com.sg
|
