The citizens of Georgetown need to see the environment differently

Dear Editor,
Over the last few days, we have been experiencing heavy rains with serious and worrying overtopping in many areas of Georgetown. Many citizens have been severely inconvenienced. They have been justifiably upset over the state of affairs. Reports from the meterological department suggest that we are likely to see more heavy rains during this period. Therefore, we need to be prepared. With the phenomenon of climate change and everything else, citizens need to significantly shift their view of, and action towards, the environment.

We wish to remind citizens that Georgetown is 4ft below normal high tide level and an additional 2ft below spring tide. The city is drained by gravity. For that reason, it is fitted with sluices and a network of drains, canals and waterways. Whenever there is a high tide the sluices have to remain closed; these facilities are opened when the tide is low to effect drainage of the city.

The coincidence of heavy rains and high tide equals overtopping in Georgetown. This has been exacerbated by the fact that, over the years, a number of canals and holding areas were filled in. These include Merriman Mall, and Punt Trench dam canals. As it now stands, the drainage capacity in the city can only facilitate 2 inches of rainfall over a given period. Perhaps we need to explore innovative ways of improving and modernizing our drainage system to make it compatible with current environmental challenges. It may be a good thing for us to convene a special public forum to discuss this with professional engineers and community leaders.

Again, the indiscriminate dumping of garbage, including plastic and styrofoam by some citizens onto parapets and into our canals, is a major source of headache for the council. These non-biodegradable materials are inhibiting the flow of water through these channels and damaging our pumps. For example, this unfriendly environmental act contributed to problems our engineers were experiencing with the pumps at Princes Street and Riverview canals. Repairing these pumps takes time and money, which we could hardly afford.

We had suggested that restaurants and other food businesses should put motivational messages on food boxes and drink cans and provide proper receptacles for the disposal of the wrappings and waste of their patrons. We believe that this could go a far way in helping our effort to keep Georgetown clean and healthy. We are hoping that the owners of these businesses would see the wisdom in making this contribution to the health of the city and take ownership for its sustainable development.

The council is spending about 1 million dollars a day to collect and dispose of garbage. Yet we are faced with this negative which is giving our city and all of its citizens a bad name. All of us must stand up and say no to littering and dumping garbage on our parapets and roadsides in the city. Say no to litter!
Further, squatting on drainage reserves is also contributing to poor drainage of the city in two ways:
(i) The council is unable to operate heavy drainage machines and

equipment in certain areas because the available space has been appropriated by squatters. As a result, main canals cannot be properly cleaned much to the inconvenience of all the citizens of Georgetown. For example, some of the residents of Laing Avenue have fenced off portions of the reserve along the West Ruimveldt Canal, just behind their houses. Some years ago, when we attempted to clean that waterway we had all kinds of problems to get citizens in that area to take their fences down to allow the drainage contractors to do their work. A similar problem exists on the other side, on West Front Road.

(ii) Many of the squatters have rudimentary sanitary facilities such as pit latrines and outhouses. Many of these are placed over the
canals. The ammonia from these pit latrines encourages aggressive aquatic growth. This impedes the flow of water in the drains. More, it allows for other environmental problems like the breeding of mosquitoes.

Some time ago, the council in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Water had embarked upon a project to relocate the squatters from these vulnerable locations to areas which were more comfortable, safe and healthy. But some were not willing to go outside of Georgetown and others did not want to move at all. The situation remains a serious challenge for the municipality. Our view is that the council alone cannot address this problem. It requires a national approach and a determination to address it frontally in the interest of all concerned.

Next, many contractors go ahead, without the approval of the council,and store building materials such as sand and stones in an improper manner. These quickly get into our drains and restrict the flow of water.

Then, there is the situation where people are choosing to concrete their yards rather than allow space for the natural environment. Therefore, instead of storm water being absorbed by the natural environment, it must run off into the drains. If the drains are not flowing then the water backs up and causes overtopping.
Nevertheless, the concern about drainage is directly linked to the wider natural environment and the way we treat it. Perhaps the greatest challenge we face are the unprecedented environmental changes caused by climate change.

Stepping back, there appears to be the need for a significant and rapid shift in the way we in Georgetown see the environment −  a new environmental paradigm. At the moment, we (the authorities and the residents of local communities) seem to be talking past each other in our dialogue about climate change and the environment, because each side is seeing the environment from different world views or realities. Therefore, it is clear that we need to go beyond the facts to understand the implicit cultural meanings which underlie our dialogue. Many of these meanings are embedded in religious and other beliefs.
For example, many citizens believe that ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness.’ This cultural model is one way of interpreting the relationship between man and his environment. It makes for environmental consciousness and responsibility. They are also those, who believe that there must be a balance between man and his environment − fragile interdependence.

Our point is that the council alone cannot initiate this shift in citizens’ attitudes and actions towards the environment because of the cultural underpinnings. It demands the involvement of all those bodies that shape and influence the everyday life of all of our citizens. Therefore, we are appealing to religious organizations, nongovernmental bodies, community groups and significant individuals to begin to engage citizens in the local communities in which they operate, on the importance of a healthy environment and clean city.
Yours faithfully,
Royston King
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council