The city is satisfied that new koker door has been well built

Dear Editor,
Please refer to letter:  `New koker door has several defects which should be immediately remedied’ (SN/21/3/2013). We appreciate the keen interest shown by Mr. Charles Sohan in the affairs of the city. Indeed, this kind of interest could only help us to improve our capacity to deliver service to our citizens.  However, we are worried that, perhaps, Mr. Sohan does not appreciate the challenges we face as a city in this area of our responsibility – securing the integrity of our drainage system.  In his letter, he raised a few concerns, which we would now address:

In the first and second paragraphs, he stated that: “During a recent inspection of the new greenheart door under fabrication for the Cummings Canal Koker, a number of defects were observed which if not addressed before installation would quickly shorten its life span.  The defects observed are as follows 1. Some of the planks are of poor quality as they exhibit knots, cracks, checks and splits at their ends. As water enters these crevices decay will start upon installation impacting the strength of the door.  Therefore the quality of the lumber should have been checked and approved before installation.”

We must point out that, other engineers from other agencies, were on site and assisted in the construction of the door. No one expressed any concern about the quality of materials. It is not that they could not have missed certain details but one would have expected that with such a company of competent engineers and technicians someone would have observed that some of the planks were of poor quality.
Again, the defects observed by Mr. Sohan are superficial.

Also, it is known that the longer greenheart stays in water the stronger it becomes. More, the door was treated with tar. This provides protection and seals cracks. Therefore, we are not particularly concerned that the superficial cracks observed will affect the integrity of the door.

It could be the case, too, that Mr. Sohan observed the materials before they were cut to specifications; materials that could not be used were not used.
We hasten to say, not boastfully but conscious of our shortcomings and new and harsher  environmental conditions and of the implications of those circumstances, that, the Engineer’s Department of the Georgetown Municipality has been building and maintaining the city’s sluices for decades.  Even with our very limited resources, we hold the safety and health of the city as our uttermost priority.

Second, in the third paragraph, he noted that: “Cotton twine has been installed in the grooves between the planks.  Okum (the stuff boat builders use) should have been the preferred material.  The after-fabrication tarring would not penetrate critical areas of the cotton twine seal in the planks grooves.  Hence the marine borers will have a field day and with the daily wetting and drying of the cotton twine and without any preservative penetration, decay of the timber planks deep in their grooves will quickly develop.  Galvanized with a sprinkling of steel bolts have been used on the door and with a saltwater environment these steel bolts will soon corrode as their tarring over will not help much.”

We do not agree with Mr. Sohan.  Okum is one of several different processes to seal joints or seals in different structures.  Caulking cotton is another way to seal structures, including our sluices. In fact, the oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams of wooden boats or ships watertight. Different processes offer particular advantages and disadvantages, in various situations.

It is our view, that the water will have a positive effect on the cotton material and will facilitate sealing and prevent the door from being breached by water.
Again, an adequate amount of coated steel bolts were used on the door. We do not agree that they will soon corrode.

“The bottom plank on the old Koker door indicated that when the door was closed it was not resting tightly on the koker floor as the bottom surface of the plank was infested with barnacle, a sign that a gap existed which allowed manner borers to get at the timber surface.  It was noted that the new door’s last plank had no provision for this gap/unevenness which should be investigated as to its cause and remedial action taken before the new door is installed.”

When the old door was taken out for repairs, the bottom plank was not attached to it. Furthermore, barnacles attached themselves to all piles and even ships. Sighting of it on the planks of the door could not, by itself, be a true indicator of the efficiency of the koker door. Nor could it prove that “… when the door was closed it was not resting tightly on the koker floor…”

However, the door has been installed by our workforce and the team is now in the process of fabricating the appropriate components to make it operable by the end of this week.

Finally, in his last press conference, His Worship, the Mayor, Mr. Hamilton Green said that as part of the effort to restore Georgetown to its prestige state, he would recommend a complete overhaul of the city’s drainage system, including the fabrication and installation of steel gates to our sluices.
Yours faithfully
Royston King
Public Relations Officer
Mayor and City Council