Dear Editor,
Someone said that if we forget our past, history will repeat itself. The following excerpt will provide justification. I came across this report during a recent trip to Guyana. I wanted to publicly share it since useful information can be deduced about the East Demerara Water Conser-vancy, flooding in the Mahaica valley and now the relevancy (or irrelevancy) of the Hope Relief Canal. It is self explanatory and sheds light on the engineering thinking 58 years ago. Thanks to the person who kept this document.
Source: British Guiana, General Review of Drainage & Irrigation In The Coastal Plains And Report For The Years 1957, 1958 and 1959 by R F Camacho, p 44. Engineer Camacho was the Director of Drainage & Irrigation at the time.
“11.5 RELIEF FOR EAST DEMERARA WATER CONSERVANCY (LAMAHA CONSERVANCY)
“11.5.1 To revert to the flood problem of the Lamaha Conservancy, the need for an additional relief, to be constructed as early as possible, was accepted by all parties in 1951. No accurate surveys inside this Conservancy exist, and it is not possible to estimate accurately the flood absorption capacity.
“11.5.2 The proposed relief was discussed at a meeting in February, 1955, with representatives of the East Demerara Water Con-servancy Commissioners. The meeting confirmed the necessity of the additional relief on the East Bank, Demerara, in the Sarah Johanna/Land of Canaan Area.
It was emphasized, however, that the relief, while a great help, would not solve the problem of flooding in the Mahaica valley which is mainly due to the run-off from its own catchment during periods of heavy rainfall. The relief would therefore alleviate flooding in the Mahaica valley to some extent in a year of average rainfall, but the problem of flooding on the Mahaica will only be solved when a dam is constructed across the Mahaica Creek for the purpose of flood control and irrigation. [My italics]
“11.5.3 The objectives of the proposed additional relief would be:
to afford protection from flooding to estates on the East bank and East Coast, Demerara, and Georgetown;
to allow additional lands on the East bank, Demerara, to be brought under cultivation without fear of flooding from the Conservancy; and
to make the first step leading towards a comprehensive future scheme for the protection of the Mahaica valley.
“11.5.4 Technical details were agreed generally with the Commissioners responsible for the management of the Conservancy, and a relief of 2 000-cusecs capacity has been designed by the Department. The final design of the five-gate reinforced concrete bridge relief sluice was completed after model tests were carried out in London on the Department’s suggested design.”
I italicised the portion of text in section 11.5.2 . The entire report is under 200 pages. Should the MOA or NDIA need a copy of this report for verification and/or to add to their library, please contact me.
Yours faithfully,
Ralph V Seegobin
