Work has commenced on the breaches of the river wall and outfall channels that had resulted in Bartica being flooded for more than a week, according to Mayor Gifford Marshall.
Giving an update yesterday to Stabroek News, Marshall explained that since the rain eased and the tide went down, the council has succeeded in draining the floodwater and as a result work was started to rectify the sea defence breaches.
“We were able to remedy the situation and the engineer [from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure] did a complete assessment,” Marshall pointed out.
He explained that they were able to identify a 100 ft span of the wall that was littered with breaches along with several issues with the outfalls. As a result, a local contractor, Rawle Ward, was contracted to do the repair works.
“He [Ward] is presently doing the necessary rectifications as advised by the engineer, which will include fixing the outfall tubes and the doors along with the sealing of the walls and works to the actual outfall,” Marshall explained, while pointing out that work can only be done when the tide is low.
In terms of the cost, Marshall explained that it is not expected to be higher than $3 million, which the municipality would pay. However, he said that since the work was unplanned, the Ministry of Communities has agreed to refund the money.
Marshall pointed out that since they deployed a pump on Tuesday they had not received any more complaints from residents. “The water has completely receded and the pump is helping greatly,” he said.
“However, we continue to call on the residents to do their part while we do our part. We ask them to dispose of their garbage in a responsible manner because that can be a major hindrance with clogging the drains and the outfalls,” Marshall added, while pointing out that he is urging the residents to ensure that they make proper use of the free waste disposal service that the municipality provides.
