Fearful of a repeat of disastrous flooding from springtides overtopping the Mahaicony sea defence, residents of Content, Mahaicony, are calling on authorities to divert resources to a portion of the defence that is vulnerable.
At the sea defence, several meters away from the breach stretching from Dantzig to Fairfield, another section of the earthen dam is being battered by waves and can break away at any time. This vulnerable portion puts many farmers and residents at risk even as they are trying to recover from the invasion of saltwater from the last flood in November, last year.
The mangrove fringe and other natural sea defences that were in place have been washed away leaving just a narrow dam, which is now exposed and rapidly eroding. At daily high tides, water from the Atlantic Ocean could be seen spilling over the earthen dam.
Workers from BK International, one of the contracted companies hired to execute emergency works on the breaches between Dantzig and Fairfield have diverted some materials towards the site where a new breach can possibly occur. It was noted that while this is done, the current stretch still remains vulnerable and immediate works to repair the sea defence must be executed.
Troy Krishna, the engineer on site who is in charge of the works, yesterday told Stabroek News that
his company cannot carry out any further works beyond what is stated in their contract. He explain-ed that a new contract will have to be awarded by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to cover the stretch that is eroding.
He added that while they have tried to reinforce the sea defence, it warrants immediate attention since it is necessary to completely rehabilitate the eroding area.
New breaches develop easily, he said, before explaining that as one area is fixed, the water diverts and undermines other weak sections of the defence, thereby exposing it to rapid erosion.
Neil Machado, a community advocate yesterday told Stabroek News that urgent attention must be given to the stretch of sea defence.
“This is how it has been between at Dantzig and Fairfield before it was eaten away. We had told them [the authorities] when it was like this but no one paid attention to it until it was eaten away. It is a rebirth of the situation here again and we are asking them that they pay attention to this part urgently,” he implored.
Machado added that the situation has regressed rapidly over the last few months and he believes that it can break away at any point.
Machado, along with other farmers suffered tremendous losses from the flooding late last year after the sea defence broke away. During that flooding, acres of rice-cultivating lands were destroyed due to the invasion of salt water. Some farmers had also suffered losses of poultry and other livestock.
Krishna told this newspaper that the engineers at the ministry are aware of the situation as they noticed the erosion when they visited to inspect works. He also stated that they have made reports of the rapid erosion taking place on the affected stretch.
Sandra Jardina, a resident of Content, told Stabroek News that she is fearful that they will suffer more flooding if the vulnerable section of the sea defence is not repaired urgently.
“We are all farmers in these communities. From the last flood we are still trying to recover because we don’t have enough lands to plant and if we have a second flood we might have to start looking for jobs out of our community. Everyone in these communities are independent and have lived through farming, it might be hard for some of us to find jobs because we might not have the skills,” Jardina explained.
She pointed out that another exposure to flooding from the Atlantic Ocean will be detrimental to livelihoods and called on the authorities to activate an emergency plan to prevent further damage.
“We need a government to step in and help us and don’t look at who is living here. People will vote for a political party but at the end of the day you are elected government for all Guyanese and we need them to help us,” she stressed.
She added that while they are grateful for the visits and sanitation products, the government of the day needs to put stronger plans in place to help farmers. “…farmers lost millions in the last flood and the ministers came and see what the situation was like but we never heard back from them. The farmers need financial aid to help them restart their operations,” she stressed further.
Another farmer, Campbell Jeffers, who is engaged in livestock and cash crop farming said he too is very concerned that if the exposed area is not repaired they will be counting losses. He said that priority must be given to the repair of the sea defence of that area since livelihoods are at risk.
Ongoing Works
Meanwhile, Krishna told this newspaper that they have made tremendous progress on the breached section of the sea defence. The major breach, he noted has been sealed and approximately 300 meters more needs to be sealed before they complete the works.
The engineer said boulders and clay are being delivered continuously onsite and with good weather they have been able to accelerate work. He estimates the remainder of the works to last just over a month providing there is good weather.
Touching on the biggest challenge of executing the works, Krishna said the choppy waters have made it difficult for the barges to deliver boulders and this has in the past contributed to some delays. At the start of the project last year, a tug sank as a result of the rough waters.
A&S General Contractors Incorporated are also working to repair the breached sea defence, measuring 3km, between Dantzig and Fairfield. They are working from the Fairfield end to meet up with BK International, working from the Dantzig end.
The rip-rap sea defences, measuring approximately 10 to 12 feet in height have been constructed higher than the mud dam to prevent overtopping from the Atlantic.
The MoPI in a statement last year had explained that the Mahaicony sea defences have been impacted by the cyclic erosion of the foreshore and natural depletion of the mangrove forest, which have caused the breaches along the coast. “The shoreline between Fairfield and Dantzig has become exposed to intense wave impact causing significant overtopping to occur in a number of sections and some sections of the embankment were completely breached during the last spring tide period,” the statement added.
During an engagement at the University of Guyana’s 21st installment of its Turkeyen and Tain Talks “Green Building for Resilient Future Cities,” held in November last year, Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson, announced that $14 billion is needed between 2020 and 2022 to effect “urgent” repairs to 32.9 kilometers of Guyana’s sea defence.
He had explained that if government fails to execute these works, communities across the coast will suffer a fate similar to that of Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.
Stabroek News yesterday reached out to the Public Infrastructure Ministry for a comment on plans for the eroding stretch at Content but was unsuccessful. The acting Chief Sea and River Defence officer, Jermaine Brathwaite, when contacted said he was in meeting and promised to return a call to this newspaper but failed to do so. When Stabroek News returned a call to his office, the phones were not answered.
