High levels of water in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) has forced its management to release water through the Maduni Sluice into the Mahaica Creek “as a last resort to avoid a major catastrophe”, the EDWC Commission said yesterday.
In a press release, the Commission said that on Saturday evening, at low tide, the discharge of water through the sluice commenced as the conservancy was nearing its full capacity and there was a threat to the integrity of the dam. It said that the discharge through the Maduni will last for a 24-hour period and will only take place during the low tide so as to have minimum impact on the residents who live in the upper reaches of the Mahaica River. The release into the Maduni is likely to aggravate flooding in both the Mahaica and Mahaicony creeks.
Farmers in both creeks had alleged on Saturday that water was being released through the Maduni since Friday or even earlier. Some had then videoed the release of water through the Maduni as evidence to present to the public. Up to Saturday there had been no word from the Ministry of Agriculture or the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) of the release. Farmers have said that they should be told immediately and not a day later.
Farmers in the Mahaica/Mahaicony Creek areas have already been flooded and have blamed this on the release of water from the conservancy. Residents told this newspaper that the water level in the Mahaica Creek rose about three inches yesterday.
According to one man, he had called the Agriculture Ministry but had been told that the Maduni outlet had not been opened and were that action taken, they would have been notified. He said that he was assured that the sluice would not have been opened and the Minster of Agriculture would visit the area to make an assessment today. Contending that it had been opened before Saturday, the man said that had they had been told beforehand, they could have taken some preventative measures to save some crops but once they noticed that the Maduni sluice had been opened “everybody just give up”.
When contacted on the opening of the Maduni sluice, before the press release was issued yesterday by the EDWC commission, Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth said that he was not in a position to make a comment on the situation.
Meantime, the EDWC release said that the EDWC Commission is taking all precautions to ensure that the discharge does not acutely aggravate an already rising Mahaica Creek, due to the historic level of rainfall along the coast and in areas which flow into the various creeks and rivers. It noted that on Friday, the Commission had indicated that the level of the Conservancy has been rising to a threatening level and it may necessitate a release of water through the discharge outlet that leads into the Atlantic Ocean and residents in the upper reaches of Mahaica/Mahaicony Creek were advised to be alert and take necessary precautions.
The statement said that the Conservancy continues to be drained through the outlets at Land of Canaan, Kofi and Cunha, which drain into the Demerara River and this will be maximized so as to prevent the prolonged use of the Maduni outlet. It added that in anticipation of the above normal rainfall, the management of the conservancy had significantly reduced the level of the conservancy during the last dry spell to increase its storage capacity. Further, the statement said, several internal waterways were cleared to improve drainage and storage within the conservancy and other works undertaken.
Meantime, the release said that in addition to the 32 monitoring staff of the EDWC an additional 50 persons were employed to enhance monitoring during the rainy periods. EDWC’s management will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure there are no breaches or overtopping of the conservancy dam, the statement said.
This is the third time in four years that the EDWC commission has been forced to release water into the Mahaica Creek flooding farmers in the two creeks. In 2005 the EDWC was thought to be the main factor behind the catastrophic Great Flood and ever since the authorities have been paying careful attention to its levels. In 2006 water had to be released again to avoid a failure of its fragile dam and this led to prolonged flooding in the creek. There was no declared release in 2007.
