Dear Editor,
It is very disheartening, and a major cause for concern, to see the residents of the Pomeroon River suffering yet again from their farmlands being inundated with floodwater. Since the previous flooding last year, the government had taken steps to assist the farmers, including, but not limited to, drainage and irrigation works and installation of new, modernized kokers. But despite these efforts, farmers who recently replanted crops with the expectation that flooding is a thing of the past, are now watching helplessly as their hard work go down the drain – quite literally!
Some of the farmers are of the opinion that an effective and quite common flood mitigation measure could be the dredging of the river channel. According to Hooke, J. M (1990), “Channelized RIVERS PERSPECTIVES for Environmental Management,” Dredging refers to activities that include any combination of removing in stream and riparian sediment vegetation, modifying channel width, depth and gradient, straightening the river. By structurally altering one or more of the hydraulic variables that govern channel flow and it’s conveyance capacity (e.g. slope, depth, width, roughness), the water stages are typically decreased, which can reduce the spatial extent of the flood inundation and the associated flood risk.
Early studies on watercourse dredging provided empirical and theoretical evidence that channelization, if appropriately designed to prevent the bank erosion and channel silting, can be quite effective as a flood mitigation measure. I am sure there are numerous studies enumerating the pros and cons of riverine dredging. I leave that to the experts. Growing up in Jacklow, I witnessed my dad and brothers having to dig mud from the trenches to top up the river dam to stop the river from overflowing and flooding our farm during “Spring” and “High” tides. This seemed an effective measure then.
But apart from hearing of a major flood back in the 30’s, which caused my grandmother, Clarice Fernandes, and other residents to lose their homes, residents have not witnessed the type of flooding that is currently taking place. The frequency is now frightening. I recall years ago, some engineers had gone to the area with the aim of dredging the estuary and I recall them telling my parents that it was a difficult task attributable primarily to the fact that the river bed had apparently become so hardened, “like a cement floor” caused by the countless coconut husks that had been thrown into the river and which had ultimately settled at the bottom. That was years ago, imagine the river bottom today if the river is still being used as a dump site!
Urgent action is required by the EPA to visit this area and provide general education to residents about how to protect the river from further pollutants, particularly coconut waste. Alternative disposal methods should be suggested. Urgent action is also required from expert engineers and other qualified persons in this field to conduct a study of other root causes, if any, of the flooding. Is the flooding caused in part by the tributaries from the river to the coast land, commonly known as the ‘Paulin canals’ which bring the waters from the coastlands to the river? With the recent improved drainage, if the farmers were to have higher river dams, would these effectively prevent further flooding? Would dredging the river channel serve to stop future flooding? My brother, David, had just planted ‘Black Eyed’ peas among other crops, and now, he will lose them all. My brothers, Ivor and Selwyn, and numerous other farmers, face similar fates with their crops. Farmers depend on what they grow to survive and constant flooding and decimation of their crops leave them frustrated, afraid and insecure, incessantly worried about providing for their families. Farmers need long-term, sustainable solutions now! The experts need to find these solutions quickly and then the government can find the funding necessary to implement them.
Sincerely,
Judith Gildharie
Former Assistant DPP
