The large amount of garbage and waste dumped by residents into the canals led to the wrecking of the drainage filter at the Annandale Pump Station, a Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) spokesman says.
A metal drainage filter installed a year ago by a contractor to replace one made of greenheart was destroyed recently. Residents who contacted this newspaper had lamented the waste of money, pointing out that the previous greenheart filter had lasted for over 15 years. According to them, the wrecked filter had been installed at a cost of $10M. “Dah (the greenheart filter) last for over 15 years and this wah they put on nah last a year,” a resident had commented.
This newspaper had been told that the new filter suffered a “cave-in” about three months ago and one section was repaired while repairs to the other half were stopped due to the weather.
Contacted on Wednesday, senior communications officer at GuySuCo Mahendra Roopnarine clarified that the filter last year had been installed at a cost of $3.9M dollars and GuySuCo is currently repairing it at a cost of $500,000.
He noted that prior to the metal structure, greenheart slabs were used to create a barrier to prevent obstacles from entering into the pump and occasionally a slab or two would break because of the intense pressure resulting from the build up of garbage and the pull of the pump. As a result, he said, the corporation decided to use metal bars to create grills for the two pumps at Annandale.
“During the recent intense period of rainfall which resulted in a significant rise in the water levels in the drainage canals, significant amounts of vegetation, garbage and other forms of waste, including metal objects, blocked the grill and with the pull of the pump forced the bottom of the grill out of place and in this process some of the metal bars became twisted,” he explained.
Roopnarine said that after the water levels receded, it was discovered that the amount of waste was over five feet in depth, “which gives a clear idea of the amount of garbage/litter/waste material residents in this area have been dumping in the water ways with absolutely no concern or regard for the effects this will have on the drainage system which is so critical to the communities in which they live and which in this case is maintained by GuySuCo at a great cost to an already cash strapped corporation.”
He said that GuySuCo had to utilize a machine to get the waste out before moving to repair the grill. “This entailed removing the grill and repairing/straightening the twisted metal and then restoring it in position. This is being done by engineers and labour with the use of a machine by the Corporation at an estimated cost of $500 000,” he said.
He appealed to persons, not only in areas maintained by the Corporation but across the coastland to remember when they litter and throw waste in their waterways they contribute towards affecting the drainage of their communities, especially during the intense wet periods when effective drainage is most critical. (Gaulbert Sutherland)
