High tide, not drainage, responsible for flooding on Water Street

--says City Engineer

A cleared section of Water Street.
A cleared section of Water Street.

Above normal high tides and rainfall are being blamed for the overtopping at sections of Water Street.

Chief City Engineer, Colvern Venture, last week told Stabroek News that the continuous overtopping between Bentick and Hope streets is as a result of the high tides overflowing from the Demerara River.

“We would have some overtopping around that area whenever there is a high tide, to my knowledge it is not an issue of drainage,” he explained.

Meanwhile, persons who work in the area and are familiar with the situation, said that that section of the road is constantly affected by overtopping.

A security guard who is employed by Mattai’s Supermarket, told this newspaper that at the start of the week, the area was flooded. “Sometimes the water is around the drains and when it is extra high, the water flows over the road. It seems like a drainage problem when it is not the high tide,” the guard said.

The guard explained further, that in many cases, brief rainfall results in waterlogging. He pointed out that recently, the small drains that normally overflow in the area were cleaned by a private company and the water had receded.

The small drains on both corners of Water Street were cleared of weeds and silted sand.