A long-term drainage plan for Grove/Diamond is currently being discussed, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday, as the community has outgrown the existing drainage facilities. Meanwhile several parts of Grove Housing Scheme remained under water yesterday while authorities continued efforts to drain the community after recent flash flooding.
Persaud said the best efforts were being made to counteract the flooding.
A frustrated Diana Wade told Stabroek News that the water was not going anywhere. According to her, it kept going down and coming back up, which she suggested is proof that the koker is not working properly. “We does get flood but not for so long,” she explained
Wade’s neighbour echoed her sentiments. The man, who did not give his name, said that it was obvious that the koker was not doing an effective job in draining the community, since several yards remained inundated.
Another resident, Geeta Ramgobin, said that her yard has been flooded since Thursday and that there has not been any significant improvement. She said every time it seemed that the water was going down further, it would rise again. Fortunately for her, the water has not risen to the point where it has entered her house. However, the woman expressed concern that if it keeps raining, the situation would worsen. She also said it appeared that the koker was not working properly. She said that ever since she moved to the community a year ago, flooding has been a problem.
The koker was open and water was being drained into the Demerara River yesterday. Residents in the area told this newspaper that while this koker was operational, it was not enough to curb the problem and that the relevant authorities needed to open a koker in Diamond. They said this had been closed ever since the land was sold to beverage giant Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL). Stabroek News was also told that the mobile pump that had been deployed to the flooded area was fully operational once again, after it had earlier developed problems. The pump at the sluice is operational during the high tide periods.
When reached for comment, Persaud explained that the reason the water level in the community would rise after dropping is because of the rebound effect that takes place when the koker is closed. He said the drainage of the community and the Diamond cane fields is intertwined and, consequently, when the koker is closed the water would back up. He also said that homes at the back of the community would be most affected by this.
Persaud further said that “ultimately the scheme has outgrown its drainage.” He said while the community has grown about 200 to 300 per cent, the drainage has not grown at a similar rate. He said that currently the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is collaborating with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) to develop a long-term plan. He said too that DDL has been contacted in writing and asked to reactivate the koker. Persaud said that DDL has already taken steps in this regard and that the koker is now partially operational.
Drained off
Meanwhile, yesterday residents of the West Bank Demerara Village of Vive la Force told Stabroek News that most of the water that had accumulated in their bottom flats and yards on Saturday had drained off. Early that morning, several residents had to abandon sleep and attempt to save their poultry, household appliances and other items after heavy overnight rain. Several of the community’s farmers lost poultry that they had reared as well as cash crops.
When this newspaper contacted some of the residents yesterday by telephone, they said that the water had reduced significantly. According to them, residents were now trying to clean up and to decide on the way forward. One resident said that the government should consider giving the farmers some amount of compensation.
On Saturday, residents said that whenever there is heavy rainfall, the water would run off from the nearby cane fields into their low-lying village. A canal separates the village from the cane fields. As a solution, some suggested the main access road to the village needed to be raised.
On Sunday, a team from the NDIA visited the community and tried to assess the reasons for the flooding. According to a press statement, the team found that GuySuCo releases water from its canal to be drained into the Demerara River via a main drainage structure found at the beginning of Vive la Force. The team found that as the water level from the Demerara River rose, this structure was closed, even as the water from the GuySuCo canal continued to flow. There was a build up of water and when it rained, water overflowed from the canal onto the road and entered the homes of residents and farmlands, the release said.
According to the statement, the water rose to about a foot and a half above the road, flooding residents and neighbouring villages until early Sunday.
The team said the area is drained on the southern side by a three-foot wide drain which drains to the structure by a 12’ tube with self acting door. It said the drain to the northern side of the village is currently heavily vegetated and silted.
According to the statement, “the residents of the area recommended that the existing drain at the northern end of the village be desilted (approximately 350 rods).” This would help drain the areas and prevent further flooding. It was also recommended that a Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) be set up in the community since currently there is none in the village. The formation of an NDC will help in the maintenance of the existing drains and canals, the statement said.
Two villagers to whom this newspaper spoke said they were unaware that a team from the NDIA had visited on Sunday. However, one resident said that the villagers were now talking about coming together and working towards finding a solution to the problems. The resident said that over the years the regional authorities have shown little interest in their well-being.
When Stabroek News contacted Regional Chairman Julius Faerber on Saturday, he had said this was not the case.
