National Drainage and Irrigation Authority CEO Lionel Wordsworth said the testing of the Northern Relief Channel of the Hope-Dochfour outlet was successful and had reduced water levels in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC).
“The test was successful, in that we were able to bring the conservancy level down to a manageable one, just around the full supply level of 57.5 GD and there hasn’t been any problem with the channel itself,” Wordsworth told the Government Information Agency (GINA) last Wednesday.
“Previously, water was discharged from the EDWC through the Maduni and Lama sluices into the Mahaica River. On June 13, the $3.6B Hope Canal project was tested in the wake of excessive rainfall that resulted in the level of the EDWC rising to 58.25 GD,” GINA said. Water was released from the EDWC into the 10.3-kilometre Northern Relief Channel and was discharged into the Atlantic Ocean via the channel’s eight-door sluice. The Channel was put into operation to preserve the structural integrity of the conservancy’s earthen embankments which had almost reached the full supply level.
