Even as the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has been assiduously preparing for the upcoming rainy season, the regional administrations have also initiated projects to prepare for the season, four chairmen disclosed recently.
During a meeting held on Tuesday morning to highlight plans for the approaching rainy season, the regional chairmen for Regions Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), Four (Demerara/Mahaica), Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) and Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) highlighted some of the initiatives undertaken so far to prepare for the upcoming season.
Chief Hydromet Officer Bhaleka Seulall said on Tuesday that the most recent statistical and forecast models indicate that the rainfall during the upcoming season is expected to be “normal”, which would include short periods of heavy downpours. She said that there is expected to be about 19-20 rain days during the months of May, June and July and she explained that these are days where the rainfall is equal to or greater than 1 mm.
Regional Chairman for Region Three Julius Faerber said $85 million will be spent in that region in preparation for the upcoming rainy season. Among the major works he identified, were 13 sidelines to be done on a monthly basis at a cost of $4.2 million, while another 60 sidelines will be done on a bi-monthly basis costing $28.9 million. Faerber further stated that nine sidelines will be excavated at the cost of $15.5 million. He also stated that there are three drainage pumps in the area which will be put to use.
Faerber said that much of the maintenance work has been done in the region since the beginning of the year. He added that with the efforts being made to clear the sidelines, he is optimistic that when the rains come, the water will drain quickly off the land.
Region Four Chairman Clement Corlette said there is an ongoing programme within the region to improve its drainage and irrigation capacity. However, he raised concerns about the Greenfield/Hope area which was badly affected during the last rainy season in December/January.
Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA Lionel Wordsworth acknowledged the chairman’s concerns. He pointed out that siltation in this outfall had been more frequent than at any other outfall. The plan is to have dredging equipment in the area during the rainy season. He also said that two additional 120 cu sec high capacity pumps will be installed at Greenfield so that additional drainage can take place during tide lock periods. This, he explained, will also help to manage water accumulating between the Crown dam and the dam of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC). Additionally, Wordsworth said, the groyne at Greenfield will also be heightened. During flooding this year at Dochfour, siltation of the sluice had been a major problem. Residents of the community were flooded for several weeks.
Region Six Chairman Zulficar Mustapha said that works are taking place in the region. He said that close to $20 million had been spent dredging small outfalls. Mustapha said that a lot of work had been done in the problematic areas and this included work in the outfall area of Number 19 Village. He also said that there are seven stationary pumps in the region in addition to three or four mobile pumps which will be utilized.
Mustapha further stated that work is also being done to replace structures on the Crown Dam, to control the water entering the housing areas. The chairman said that during this year $50 million had been budgeted towards drainage and irrigation in that region.
Meanwhile, repairs are also being done in Region Ten according to its Chairman Mortimer Mingo. He said that $23.5 million has been spent on carrying out works in preparation for the season. This includes clearing and dredging the mouth of the Karakara Creek. He also said that work will be done in the Victory Valley area. He said efforts were also made to address the issue of siltation in the West Watooka outfall and in other areas.
Chairman of the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/Agricultural-Development-Authority (MMA/ADA) Rudolph Gajraj said that several projects have been undertaken to reduce flooding in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice).
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud pointed out that just over a year ago, the MMA had been given responsibility for maintaining the D&I systems in all of Region Five.
Meanwhile Dr Harold Davis from GuySuCo said the sugar company is ensuring that all its structures are operable. He said there were some areas which needed some dredging. Davis said work needed to be done in the East Berbice Region and this work is in progress. He also said that the main pump at Montrose on the East Coast Demerara has been repaired, which he opined will be a significant help to areas along the lower East Coast.
Persaud had said that special engineers working with the NDIA had been appointed to assist the regions with their works. He said it has been discovered that the regions were often hampered by the lack of expertise and this decision was taken so as to help overcome this hurdle.