While saying that flooding could not have been avoided in Georgetown due to the amount of rainfall that has occurred, City Engineer Colvern Venture has maintained that the City Council did not neglect its responsibilities in minimizing the impact.
Speaking at a press conference held at City Hall yesterday, Venture noted that the rainfall ranged from 40mm to 80mm and added that this was compounded by the aged design of the city as well as the change in its dynamics.
His comments came on the heels of criticism by President Irfaan Ali, who visited several drainage pumps in and outside of Georgetown on Sunday night and said he found pumps off, koker doors closed, and workers asleep during the late-night inspections.
A statement posted to the Office of the President’s Facebook page said Ali discovered that the pumps at Riverview were off, the koker doors were closed and the worker was asleep.
“This is what we are talking about. I came out here myself to verify tonight. The main pump to drain the city is turned off. Up to today, we said that the pumps need to be on 24 hours… while we have to deal with the heavy rainfall we have to deal decisively with the irresponsibility and negligence,” he was quoted as saying.
The statement said Ali was shocked at the lackadaisical approach by some pump attendants when he assessed several drainage pumps in and outside of Georgetown.
At Lombard Street, it noted, the President also questioned why the pump was not on. Another stop was made at the Kitty pump station, where two of the city’s most important pumps were not working. However, minutes after Ali arrived, one of the pumps was turned on.
Heavy rainfall on Saturday night left many parts of the city flooded and the President was adamant that all efforts should be made to get the water pumped out.
But Venture said the sluices were opened from Saturday up until the early hours of Sunday and based on the information received from officers on the ground he said all pumps were operational, except for the one at Cowan Street that developed mechanical issues.
He disclosed that the sluices along the Demerara River were opened except for the sluice at Lamaha Street but informed that the pump compensated in its absence.
Venture said the records show that the sluices were opened during the course of the weekend.
He also shared that a pump located at Sussex Street also encountered some difficulties while in operation yesterday morning.
Venture explained that the switching off of the pumps just before or in preparation for the opening of the sluices is a normal procedure.
To the allegation of the person sleeping on the job, Venture said an investigation was launched and a report on findings will follow upon the completion of investigations.
He added that an investigation is also being done as it relates to the absenteeism of staff.
Meanwhile, the engineer in relation to the Kitty pump station noted that challenges are being encountered with the two pumps there as they cannot operate for long periods. He said it is suspected that the situation may be due to an overload on the pumps. He said there is an automatic system that shuts the pump off if it becomes overloaded or if it is not receiving enough water.
It is believed that it was during the time that president Ali and a representative from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) visited when one of the pumps was off. However he noted that the council is working with the Ministry of Agriculture to rectify the issue.
He added that it might require them to remove the pumps so as to further investigate what is happening.
Still addressing the Kitty system, Venture explained that without sufficient water in the basin the pump cannot be run. He said that the council has been working feverishly over the past few days to ensure there is less water in the city, bringing it back to a state of normalcy.
He added that while there is still a high level of water in the canals, it is due to the interlinked drainage system.
Mayor Ubraj Narine in a brief address called on the government to work with the council rather than taking a blame-trading approach.
