MY WAVE takes a learning trip to DEQ

MY WAVE club members and volunteers recently trooped to the Division of Environmental Quality for a field trip. We went there to learn about ways this organization protects our environment and ways to improve it. MY WAVE is interested in DEQ because we are a club that concerns tourism. If our environment is beautiful and safe, more tourists will come to Saipan.

The first thing we did was to test the quality of water to tell how much bacteria were present. We learned that water testing is a vital role for DEQ to ensure that citizens of the CNMI to have good quality water to drink, wash, or swim in. As the members watched and learned, two methods of testing water quality were demonstrated at the laboratory: the Chromogenic and Florogenic techniques.

Chromogenic deals with the water color. For instance, if the water is yellowish, it is a clear sign not to use it for any purposes. Florogenic deals with how water glows in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet light. The brighter the glow, the more contaminated the water is—even if the water is clear. We learned that we have the right to ask water companies a report about their water quality. The report has to be recent, as in the past three weeks, rather than months ago. Don’t bother buying water if they don’t give you a report.

The quality assurance manager, Mr. Abby Kaipat, taught us all about water quality. He is a smart and humorous man. Mr. Javier Olopai, a chemistry journalist who records all the data; Ms. Cassandra Mangerero, the head of the chemistry section; Mr. Melvin, the acting supervisor; and lab manager Mrs. Clarissa Tanaka-Bearden taught us all about their responsibilities and roles in ensuring safe and clean drinking water. Not only that, they also shared with us the importance of clean and healthy water.

DEQ measures the turbidity of water in the beaches. Turbidity is the murkiness in the water. Water that is too murky can hurt our marine animals, especially coral, which relies on clear water and sunlight to make their food. Reducing the turbidity of the water is great for our marine creatures. A turbid meter is used to measure water’s turbidity. DEQ also measures the salinity and temperature of the water.

Marine animals are very sensitive to salinity or temperature. If a change took place it could severely harm the animals. Water that is too salty, hot, cold, or less salty can kill a marine animal. DEQ uses a YSI meter to measure the water’s salinity and temperature.

Ms. Cassandra Mangerero, who is the head chemist, taught us how to measure the water by using the YSI meter. The instruments can also detect acid and measure dissolved oxygen. Cassandra and Clarissa taught these topics to us.

We went to Garapan fishing base to measure the water’s properties. This location is WB 21(West Beach 21). Salinity is 32.88. Dissolved oxygen was 104.5 percent. The water was acidic since it was above 7. Below 7 is basic. (Perhaps it was the fact that many motorboats are brought to this area that made it acidic.) Temperature is 28.86 degrees Celsius. Conductivity is 50.05mc/cm. Turbidity was measured by scooping 19 millimeters of water. It was found to be at 20.54, which is regular. Water turbidity is bad when it is somewhere from 50 to 100.

DEQ is divided into nine branches; Laboratory, Marine Monitoring, Nonpoint Source Pollution, Wasteland/Erosion Control, Safe Drinking Water, Clean Air, Site Assessment and Remediation, Toxic Waste, and Storage Tanks and Pesticides. The field trip only concentrated on laboratory and safe drinking water.

The members and volunteers of MY WAVE CLUB think that a clean environment is a very important thing in life, because without it there is no life. DEQ is not only for the environment but it is the LAW, which means Land, Air, Water.

We would like to thank the people up there at DEQ—Mr. Kaipat, Ms. Mangerero, Mrs. Clarissa Tanaka-Bearden, Mr. Olopai, Mr. Melvin, Mrs. Marcia Camacho and Director Frank Rabauliman and all the staff for their assistance on this successful trip.

Of course, we would especially like to thank Mr. Tim Faska. Without him, there wouldn’t be a MY WAVE Student Tourism Club at MHS.

Finally, please remember that MY WAVE is an acronym: Marianas Youth Welcome All Visitors Enthusiastically. Our MHS mission statement is: “To promote the awareness of the socio-economic importance of the tourism industry on the people and environment of the CNMI.” (Tomiko Olaitiman, Rosann Fitial, Rosalina Olopai, and Bryan Demapan, Special to the Saipan Tribune)