The phrase "Calangute is sitting on a sewage bomb" is one that will haunt me when whiling away an hour or two on the beach or in a restaurant!

It's a really serious situation and needs to be resolved for the sake of the local residents. A few years back I met a guy who fell into a sewage pit on his way home in the dark after a few Kingfishers. Sounds funny but believe me, it wasn't.

a few Kingfishers = a taxi home

and it is

This just reinforces what some of us on this site have been banging on about for ages The Goverments headlong dash for tourism ( and the chance for some of the money it will bring) has not been accompanied by any investment in the infrastructure. No mains water, no sewage system, inadequate electricity supplies, little or no garbage collections, etc. To put these things in place will cost millions and is certainly not the job of the local Calangute council It's a horrendous mess and I doubt if the Goan Goverment will be willing to put their hand in their pocket for something that wont show them a profit Every year there is more and more both local and foreign tourists and consequently the chance for an outbreak of something much worse than an attack of the "trots" grows greater. It,s something any tourist should be aware of as Goa must really be , as far as a package holiday destination goes, as one of the worst places anywhere as far as health and hygene standards go, Just be sure all your jabs are up to date and as advised, keep your mouth TIGHT closed in the shower!!! Alan

Unfortunately it is not just in the shower that is the problem.

I know of many places that supplement their mains water supply by using well water. Which means glasses plates etc may be washed in contaminated water and what is that tea or coffee made with!

Having said that I shall be back in Goa for 3 Months in the new year, but maybe I will be a little more selective where I eat and drink.

As I understood it the majority of places use well water and there is little in the way of mains water. In the complex we stay in, the water is pumped from the well to rooftop tanks and this is what you shower and wash in. The apartment has a water purifier which filters the drinking water and then kills all bacteria with UV light, making the water totally safe. The sludge in the filter has to be seen to be believed when it is cleaned out. Our well is full of frogs and I am sure most of them will be the same. You certainly would not want to put the untreated water anywhere near your mouth!

This does not surprise me, very disturbing. I discussed this with environmentalists in Goa last year, posted some thoughts which were considered scaremongering.

Someone must do something about this. There are more and more people catching a lot more than 'food poisoning'. I (and partner) caught a 'bug' 2 years ago on the 2nd day which was down to contaminated water, seriously unwell for 4 weeks! Last year friends had the same, more cases each year, Goa was never like this in the past.

THIS IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL TIMEBOMB

I keep my mouth tightly closed while in the shower and try to avoid letting the seawater near it while in the sea. We always use sterilised water for brushing our teeth. As you say the situation will only get worse while officials can be paid off with a few pounds. Typhoid springs to mind and what would that do for tourism in Goa.

I was looking for the article that a biologist had written over a year ago about the results of tests he had made on water and sea around the Baga/Calangute area. I can't locate it but it was alarming the amount of 'bugs' (and that's putting it mildly) he reported... high contimanation of E-Coli, Salmonela etc etc.. at levels way above 'safe'. I hate to think how much the levels have risen since then.

I would NEVER swim at Coco beach, I noticed a couple of years ago how dirty the water gets at times. They definately dump sewage in the Neru river, don't believe the lies that the shack owners tell you, they obviously aren't going to tell you how dirty the water is flowing in.

Much as I love Goa, I have never ever been to a tourist destination with as much sanitation and garbage problems (and I've been around). It's easy to turn a blind eye but only till you catch something.

I'm also amazed that doctors never really tell you the real diagnosis for 'sickness' and 'Delhi-belly'. I think they tend not to tell you because you are a tourist and don't want to frighten you so they just give you some pills. If you had the same 'sickness' back home the environmental health dept. would be knocking on your door.

I know India is a third world country but Goa isn't the real India and the tourist industry is making the region a packet. The corruption needs to stop now before a major disaster happens.

I now believe the environmentalists in Goa 100% and if this problem isn't sorted expect to see a big increase in tourist casualties from diseases and 'bugs'. I wouldn't wish whatever I got on anyone (it wasn't simply 'Delhi Belly').

I'm with Big Neil on this one, a couple of years ago my wife was laid low, finished up on i.v. fluids and antibiotics definitley not just the usual trots. Also about the same time I lifted the skin off the front of my lower leg on the corner of one of the "super light" wooden beach beds. It was treated at Dr Tito,s clinic, about 12 stitches, lots of jags. and cautioned on no account to go anywhere near the sea as if you did it would definatley become infected, even getting it wet in the shower was a big no no We still visit yearly but are in no illusion as to the risks you run, I would go further and say you are at even more risk in Goa than in the likes of the major cities as at least they have the semblance of a sewage system and mains water whereas in the coastal belt of Goa the water is from wells and the sewage is going right next door to them in septic tanks and the like. Not a situation that would be allowed in most places in the world Alan

All this is making me depressed, I can't see the situation getting any better in the short-run. There will be without doubt a price to pay for all this leaking sewage into the water table, even with my limited knowledge of Geology I know that once the water table get's infected it could take a lifetime to revert back to normal.

What a terrible price to pay for tourism, if I were a local I would certainly be very angry with the government (personally I'm angry about all this).

i puit my hubbys violent sickness and trots down to food, now reading all this it makes me wonder if it was the seawater!!

Personally I wouldn't swim anywhere between Calangute and Baga, this is known to be the most contaminated area. If I've wanted a beach day with swimming I've always gone to Morjim/Ashvem or gone down South.

The lack of an adequate sewage system in North Goa ('The strip') could spell the fate of this area.

I think a tourist survey on the numbers of people getting sick during their 2/3/4 week stays would be beneficial but probably will be seen as scaremongering but I think the results would shock! The year before last the doctor treating my partner said he had a lot of cases where long-term tourists (those who had been visiting more than 7-10 times) were catching 'bugs' they had never encountered.

If this was anywhere in Europe the whole area would be closed.

this has been a great topic, im with all thats been said. As much as ive visited Goa and love being there. The Goan council/government always seem to turn a blind eye, 'to keep things sweet' not only in environmental issues,i read earlier this year on this website that a local wants to open a golf driving range. Theres more important things in Goa than a 'golf range' what amount of fresh water needed for that??
Im not sure if permission was given, i certainly hope not.
Sorry folks for the rant

"Sorry folks for the rant"

It's not a rant, I'm sure if all this was happening in your back yard you would want to know the truth.

As a frequent visitor to Goa (and property investor) I would certainly want to be kept up to date on health issues.

What I would be VERY interested in finding is the report by The University of Goa's Microbiology Department on the state of the coastal waters. Quotes have been reproduced on this discussion group and make alarming reading. If anyone knows where the full report is, please post a link.

Now's the time for action to be taken!

Hold on a minute - surely this must affect the seafood....most of the locals eat fishcuuryrice as a staple throughought the year. In our part of the world the mackeral is called the s**t fish because of what it eats.
Beware of cheaper cuts of meat!!

The fisherman now have to go further and further out to sea to catch fish. Pollution of heavy metals seem to affect seafood more.

Big Neils right, when we started going about 15 years ago it was a daily occurance helping the fishermen haul their nets ashore and they were without exception bulging with a really varied catch. Nowadays its quite unusual to see this and the catch is usually very meagre Alan

Bit about fishing in Herald today

http://oheraldo.in/node/18360

I thnk that it is the old story there are simply too many boats chasing too few fish. We were down to Majorda in the south a couple of years ago and there were over 50 boats fishing. The waters simply cannot sustain the level of fishing which seems to be still increasing. Given the rising fuel costs, how long can it continue?