Director of the Barbados Marine Tust (BMT), Michael Webster, shared this view with the DAILY NATION following the breach in the sewer system last Friday.

"It is very clear this there are going to be leaks and breaks at some stage. We understand that that is part of what can happen at a plant. But we would like to see the plant upgraded to a tertiary treatment plant," he said.

Thousands of gallons of sewage spilled into a storm drain and into the sea, causing several beaches along the South Coast to be closed as a precaution. They were reopened to the public on Tuesday.

Webster said a tertiary plant treatment process went beyond secondary (biological oxidation) treatment.

He said when accidents like last Friday's occurred, the potential for grave damage to marine life would be decreased because bacteria and other harmful elements would already have been treated at the plant before it reached the sea.

"You would not have to close the beaches like they have had to," he added.

Webster said such systems were used all over the world.

He added that in some places the water which came from such plants, called grey water, was used to watergolf courses.

He said the South Coast plant at Graeme Hall Swamp also gave cause for concern.