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GPL power outages could lead to flood situation – City Official
Deputy City Engineer Lloyd Alleyne
There is dire need for the Liliendaal drainage pump to be operated by a two-way supply of electricity since, according to Deputy City Engineer Lloyd Alleyne, should the supply of electricity be stopped for a prolonged period a number of communities will be at flooding risk.
And this was the situation yesterday, Alleyne disclosed, when he met with media operatives at an emergency press briefing at City Hall.
According to Alleyne, it was just about 10:00 hours yesterday that he got a report from the operator of the pump that the flow of electricity was shut down by the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated.
The pumping site is furnished with two electrically driven pumps. It formerly had a mechanically operated one which was loaned to the municipality by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA). The latter pump was removed last Friday.
City Mayor Hamilton Green, at his most recent press conference, said that after the floods of 2005 Central Government had promised to replace the pumps at Liliendaal and to provide the municipality with an additional source of electricity, which was intended to help improve the drainage system to some extent.
“What happens at Liliendaal is that when the Guyana Power and Light goes down our pumps that are electrically driven become impotent. So we requested from the government and GPL an additional transformer…,” Mayor Green relayed.
According to Alleyne it was also after the 2005 floods that a request was made to central government to have the number two pump at the Liliendaal pumping site refurbished, adding that an estimate was done in 2006 but nothing was done, reportedly due to the lack of funds.
However the city engineer said that he was informed by an official of the NDI Authority that plans to refurbish the pumps are in train for next year.
Alleyne pointed out that he thought that the break after the pump was removed on Friday would have been for a short while, adding that at the time the water in the basement of the pumping site was about 48.2 GD.
At 13:00 hours the electricity still had not returned, Alleyne said, and by that time the waters had risen to 49.9 GD.
But according to the engineer, “to control the water level in the area south of Georgetown we normally ensure that the water is Under 50,” a level to which the water quickly reached.
Mr Alleyne said that he immediately notified the Minister of Public Works and the Town Clerk of the looming disastrous situation.
“I told them that the water level was rising and if we were to get any rains at that time we would have an increase of water on the land…”
Among the areas that could have been inundated, Alleyne said, were South Ruimveldt Park and Garden, North Ruimveldt, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Festival City, Guyhoc Park, Tucville and all areas east of Sheriff Street which the Liliendaal pump drains.
“It was very fortunate that we did not have any heavy rain at that point in time…”
However Alleyne reported that the potential flooding situation was averted some time after 14:00 hours when the flow of electricity was restored to the pumping site and both pumps there were fully operational, allowing the water to return to a level of 48.8 GD.
He disclosed that the majority of water has been drained off the land, noting though that the municipality is nonetheless tasked with dispatching workers to ensure that drains are not clogged.
“We had a problem in the City at the only pump at the Kitty Pump station. That developed a problem yesterday (Monday) because a piece of wood got into the impeller. With assistance from NDIA we got that back into operation last (Monday) evening.”
Again Alleyne reiterated that the city was fortunately spared any disaster since there was no reported heavy rainfall. This pump, according to him, drains areas including Kitty, Campbellville, Subryanville, the National Park and the army compound.
Alleyne reported though that at the moment all pumps in the city are operating well, with the exception of the one at Princes Street due to a problem with the impeller. Efforts are being made to source parts to have it fixed as soon as possible, he added.
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