The River - A photo Essay from July 2016

It was one of those days when I was trying to decide if I could continue to behave as a teenager or what I could do to become a little more grown up.

I walked towards the bridge gingerly, as there was a slight incline in the walkway,  some cracks in the concrete pavement, along with some missing rails on the barrier. This was not a good place for brisk walking or for stumbling….

Once I got past the main piece of the barrier with the missing railing, I placed my hands on the uppermost piece of the railing and leaned over.

In the previous weeks I had seen pieces of debris, some partially submerged, some lying close to the surface of the water, all of which were differently sized and coloured. 

Some of these pieces appeared to be interlocked, either due to the shapes of the parts or the composition of the items. These pieces of debris seemed to slow down the flow of the water and trap other pieces of debris. The depth of the river could not be ascertained as the water appeared to be dark. This may have been  due to absence of  light in the early morning or due to the build up of silt in this last section of the river.

This river is wide and leads to the sea. Over the years the banks have been reinforced with concrete to protect the land on either side of the river. In close proximity to the river bank, higher up the river is a sub district water processing plant which has the option to release water into the river. However, this may not be done as this plant is one of the main processing areas in the district and to lose water might mean reducing the flow of water to some of the consumers in a valley where rain has been inconsistent for some time.

This morning though, some of these items had been removed. Although there had not been any rain in the night before or in the early hours of the morning which would speed up the flow of water and bring more debris into the area, there was little to no movement on the surface of the water.

Then, I spotted a small set of ripples in the middle of the water just where the sun was beginning to shine through.  These ripples then started moving quickly in the direction of the bridge.

I waited, trying to see what was causing the ripples in the deep blue section of the river. After what seemed like an eternity, the ripples separated into small sections of movement along the water.

In the area below the bridge, where the sunlight was brightening the water, I saw small to medium sized fishes swimming close to the surface of the water. It was a sign that there was hope for the dwellers on both sides of the river. After all, fish in the fresh water meant no mosquitos

copyright: Jennifer N. Bailey
email: jennifernbailey24d@gmail.com