The residents of the Three Friends and Maria Elizabeth communities in Region Ten have gained some measure of relief from the waste water which inundated their communities following the breach of the tailings pond of the East Montgomery Mines.
“Presently the water has receded a whole lot from last night and the night before. This afternoon an excavator at the site divert the water to save the house that was getting the direct impact,” a resident of Maria Elizabeth informed.
She noted that even before the breach, the road between the two communities was covered by “river water” and explained that after the breach, areas which were usually dry became inundated to knee height.
“Now there is a little water on the road itself but most of the water is running in the drain which the excavator created.”
Regional Executive Officer (REO) Dwight John told Sunday Stabroek that the excavator which belongs to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) had been engaged after the water receded enough for it to operate.
“After the flow of water had subsided the [Civil Defence Commission] chair notified me that they had dug a small four-foot drain to channel water to a culvert in the area so the previous heavy flow is no longer the reality.”
He explained that the breach had originated in one of the old reservoirs and that the water came through the channels and cut off the roadway between Three Friends and Maria Elizabeth forcing residents to traverse the area via boats.
Stabroek News had previously reported that officials of Bosai Minerals have claimed that the disaster resulted from the blockage of an outflow channel from a mined area belonging to the LINMINE Secretariat/NICIL. She explained that this channel appeared to have been blocked and bridged for access to a scrap metal store, called the “Rehab Area”.
While both the REO and Chair of the Regional Democratic Council have acknowledged that officials were able to find the source of the breakage by tracking water through the mines aback of Three Friends, neither was keen to agree with Bosai’s assessment.
“That’s a pronouncement for the technical people to make. There are teams of engineers from the NDIA, CDC, Ministry of Public Works, and the Environmental Protection Agency, who have been on site. They will make that determination. The region is concerned with providing relief,” John explained.
He said that so far the RDC has provided food hampers to several of the 81 households affected across both communities (46 in Three Friends, 35 in Maria Elizabeth). On Monday it is expected that the CDC will be providing more hampers and cleaning supplies.
“The residents are being looked after. We took in water and food supplies and will carry water tanks in the new week. These tanks will be provided through the CDC. We will also try to see how soon we will have the roadway fixed. There is also a breach in one of the dykes. All will be looked at in the new week. The regional and central government agencies will be working tirelessly to make sure residents are comfortable,” he assured.
Regional Chair Deron Adams reminded that Bosai has committed to providing equipment to help in these rehabilitation works.
