After one of the highest spring tides ever resulted in flooding in the Pomeroon and Mahaicony, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA) said the inclement weather was hindering them from venturing into the areas to address the issue.
Region Two Chairman Daveannand Ramdatt explained to Stabroek News that there was overtopping of the dam in the lower and upper Pomeroon areas because of the spring tide and the matter was reported to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on May 10 and was discussed. He said a team from the region had made an assessment, but since water was still on the land they have not been able to assess the damage.
“The water flowing over the river dam and it’s compounded with other issues such as the kokers and the structures,” he said, stating that it was an extremely high tide which caused the flooding.
Head of the NDIA Frederick Flatts stated that the area has been experiencing problems for the last 30 years since the Pomeroon is not effectively drained. “What we do is we have raised the level of the dam in some areas and the NDIA has done some of that in the past,” he said, stating that the engineers are supposed to be going into the area in the coming week to assess the areas that have been affected and where works needs to be done. Based on the assessment a decision will be made. “It would not cover the entire Pomeroon, that will need a project, but the weak areas will be looked at,” he said.
In relation to the flooding in Strath Campbell, Mahaicony, Flatts explained that the NDIA is working along with the MMA and the region and right now their main objective is to ensure that by Wednesday there are four working mini excavators and a pump that will assist the farmers and residents in getting the water off their land.
Head of the MMA Aubrey Charles explained to Stabroek News that since the incident was reported they have not been able to get any of the heavy duty equipment into the area to work on fixing the problem.
While it was reported that the flooding in the area was caused by a breach in the dam, Charles said that contrary to the reports it was not a breach.
“There was a breach there earlier in the year and we sent a machine and filled the breach so since then the earth, when it settled on that spot, was a bit low…,” he said, adding that the spring tide caused water to flow over that same section.
In order for them to get the vehicles into the area through the weather they would need “mats,” he said, which the MMA does not have. “Sometimes you send in the machine and take a chance and it gets stuck and it’s hard to get out, I can tell you that,” he said, adding that the MMA is aware of the situation and is trying to address it.
