Dear Editor,
Extensive flooding earlier this week in Georgetown and many coastal areas has shown once again the overall degradation in the ability of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and the City of Georgetown (M&CC) to manage floodwaters, as the drainage systems under their respective responsibility continue to function at reduced capacities instead of progressive increases over time.
Changes in land use coupled with the effects of sea level rise have altered the characteristics of existing drainage systems, making low-lying coastal areas subject to frequent flooding as has been experienced over the past several years. Unmanaged regional developments have drastically altered or interdicted water control systems, and the responsible agencies have demonstrated that they lack a sound understanding of the systemic impacts of these changes which have adversely affected the functional dynamics of the system.
To enable NDIA and M&CC to get a clear understanding of the drainage regimes and the interventions necessary to increase the drainage capacity and hence reduce the frequent flooding of vulnerable areas, a Conservancy Adaptation Project (CAP) was formulated, and the Government of Guyana (GoG) sought and received World Bank financial assistance for its execution. Unfortunately, GoG’s executing agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, has been unable to get this project started after some four years and NDIA/M&CC are still groping in the dark and tinkering with mishmash schemes placing blame in the process on La Niña and the system’s limited ability to cope with only 1½“ of rainfall in 24 hours (instead of 4”), excuses which appear to be plausible for doing little or nothing while the people continue to suffer from floodwater.
What is urgently needed is a blueprint to identify key drainage regimes for follow-on intervention, and thus effectively manage water levels during periods of intense rainfall. It is evident from its operations that NDIA lacks understanding of how the coastal plain drainage regimes work. CAP was intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of the coastland’s flood management system and thus furnish a functional topographic baseline for drainage analysis and execution on a rational basis. It would abolish the hodgepodge schemes now being undertaken, and concentrate on developing design and works for the most critical areas to maximize the use of existing structures and systems based on the proven gravity-based methods, and rely less on the use of pumps which in the not-too-distant future would be too costly to operate and maintain.
NDIA has to come up with an executable plan to improve flood protection for people living on the densely populated lowlands, with critical near-term civil works to increase drainage relief capacity to handle intense rainfall immediately. Flood control cannot be managed on an emergency basis, and control efforts must be focused on responding to immediate needs rather than the development of long-term control strategies.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan
