The breakdown of a pump at Albion has been blamed for the continued flooding of the Fyrish/Chesney, Corentyne area after recent heavy rainfall and Agriculture Minister Noel Holder has intervened to bring relief to residents.
On Wednesday, Holder, Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Fredrick Flatts and their respective teams visited Region Six to listen to the plight of residents in light of the recent flooding.
During the morning hours, the team visited the Fyrish/Chesney area, which up to Wednesday had some three feet of floodwater covering sections of the dams, making it difficult for residents to access the main public road so as to carry out their daily tasks.
The residents present explained that the area depends heavily on GuySuCo’s Albion Estate to assist with draining floodwater.
However, the water had accumulated in certain areas mainly because a pump was not functioning due to a shattered motor.
Albion Estate Manager Hutton Griffith related that the pump, which is located in the nearby Albion Village, was experiencing mechanical issues. He noted that in order for the pump to become operational again, the shattered motor needed to be replaced. According to Griffith, the broken motor was sent to be fixed, however, it was expected to be finished in some 10 days.
However, Holder intervened with the support of NDIA and contacted a supplier, who undertook to make a replacement available.
The supplier was instructed to send the replacement to Albion Estate, so as to get the pump up.
Griffith then explained that once the replacement is installed and the pump is back in operation, residents can expect the situation to improve and a return to normalcy within some three days.
Griffith also stated that while the flooding was due to the pump being down, the effect of the recent heavy rainfall was compounded by the overflowing of the Canje Creek. He said that over the previous four to five days, there were some 10 to 12 inches of rainfall in the Fyrish/Chesney area. This, he noted, was “a lot of water.
Now what compounded the problem is the amount of the water in the short period of time and the fact that we have two pumps in front here that not working and at the back where we have six pumps only two working.” He claimed that the reason only two pumps were working was due to the “overtopping” of the Canje Creek. He said, “Because of the amount of rainfall, the Canje Creek so high that the water overtopping where we are pumping, so we cannot pump water and the Canje Creek fulling the water back on the land.”
Holder, addressing the gathering, stated that while the May/June rains were intense this year, the situation has been compounded by the effects of passing tropical storms, which resulted in the flooding of several villages countrywide.
Holder then noted that the normal water control measures in Berbice had to be reversed. He explained that water now had to be released through the Torani canal into the Berbice River to reduce the level of the Canje Creek, instead of taking the water from Berbice River into Torani Canal to the Canje Creek, which is the measure normally used.
He then acknowledged the efforts of the NDIA and GuySuCo and pledged his ministry’s support to assist until the floodwater recedes in every village throughout the country.
Meanwhile, residents also highlighted issues with the main access dam leading into the area. Holder said he would engage the attention of the Minister of Public Infrastructure so as to improve the situation.
The Fyrish meeting was held at the residence of Deonarine Arjune, who operates D Arjune and Sons chicken farm. The businessman said that he was thankful that the minister was paying heed to their plight.
The visit by Holder and Flatts was as a result of an invitation by the Prime Minister’s representative in Region Six, Gobin Harbhajan.
