Residents of Liliendaal are concerned that a section of the seawall that was broken to insert a pipe to facilitate construction of the US$6 million Liliendaal Pump Station could lead to flooding in the area, if left unattended.
When Stabroek News posed the question during a visit to the area yesterday, the site manager, whose name was given as Mr Tulsie, said, “Tell the residents I said to f*%# off”. He then contended that no resident had that concern.
“Breaking the seawall to place the pump wouldn’t pose an issue to the residents as all the engineers along with the sea defence board wouldn’t have approved the project,” he added.
According to Tulsie, the opening has been there for over a month and no water has overflowed. He added that the top of the seawall would be concreted and “a step” placed for people to get across. With regard to the delay in the project, which was supposed to be completed in April, the site manager said, “there have been a number of changes and improvements to the works and within six weeks the entire project will be completed”.
A resident who preferred to go unnamed agreed that there hadn’t been a flood for the longest while. However, she said her expectation was that the contractors would have placed the pipe “below”. She said she hoped that “the flood waters can run off within a reasonable timeframe and that the new pump offers the service we need”.
In the most recent pipe update on the pump station it was reported that pipes were supposed to be run under the Rupert Craig Highway to enable drainage to the sea. There was no evidence of that during yesterday’s visit.
The project, which is being undertaken by General Engineering Supplies, forms part of the Guyana Flood Risk Management Projects funded by the World Bank through the Agriculture Sector Development Unit’s Sustainable Agricultural Development Project (ASDU-SADP).
