More irrigation pumps have been dispatched to flood-affected farmlands along the Mahaicony coast in a bid to drain farms of salt water which rushed in from spring tides over the last week and some land may not be usable for two years.
Land cultivated and being used to rear livestock was flooded after heavy overtopping and several breaches along the sea defence on the Mahaicony coast.
The spring tides last week surged through one section of the fragile defences where natural protection mangroves had been washed away and salt water has ruined large swathes of rice acreage.
Many farms along the stretch remain inundated and up to yesterday, farmer Neil Machado said a pump was being set up to drain the farms.
He explained that while the breaches remain, the sea dam has been built higher to prevent overtopping. At Dantzig, he said no work has started to seal the breaches.
Meanwhile, Region Five Chairman Vickchand Ramphal told Stabroek News yesterday that contractors were in the process of mobilizing material to begin work to seal the breaches.
Ramphal said that an additional pump has also been placed at Cottage, Mahaicony to aid with irrigation. He stated that farmers have been working to save their farms but some will not be able to plant for the next two years.
“The salt water has contaminated the farms so the farmers will not be able to use these lands for another two years or so,” Ramphal said.
Following a site visit by Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson, it was disclosed that around 50,000 tonnes of boulders will be needed to seal the breaches in the sea defence. Government said it was working to complete the works by October 26, when the next spring tide is scheduled to occur.
It is estimated that 50,000 tonnes of boulders are needed for emergency works along the impacted area between Dantzig and Fairfield, Mahaicony.
“The next spring tide is October 26, so we are maximizing the time. As long as there is no rain, we should be able to at least get to all the breaches and do some intervention. While we may not be able to stop the overtopping by the 26th, we want to stop the water coming in with free access,” Patterson said during the visit.
DPI had said that it is estimated that 400 households across 65 coastal communities have been affected by the sea defence breach caused by spring tides during September 26 to October 2.
DPI added that one of the breaches is currently inaccessible. To address this situation, numerous excavators are extracting mud from the Bellamy Canal to build a wall behind the existing boulders along the foreshore. This is needed to enable the passage of equipment and materials to the sites that were breached, DPI had reported.
Farmers had previously told Stabroek News that due to the flooding they have suffered tremendous losses.
For some, this is the second loss they have suffered for the year. Earlier this year, the sea defence breaches had threatened over 1,500 acres of rice fields and several livestock farms.
Two thousand tonnes of boulders were delivered to vulnerable sections at Prospect and Broomhall for placement along the sea dam back in July.
