Hope Canal closer to reality

Apr 13, 2010 News

The technical phase of the Hope/Dochfour Relief Channel is over, excavation of the channel will begin shortly and the tender requests for construction of the necessary structures along the route of the relief channel will soon be advertised – this from the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
The Relief Channel will serve to alleviate the swelling of the East Demerara Water Conservancy during periods of heavy rainfall. Since it has been designed with the tolerances necessary to handle water levels matching those that caused the flooding that was experienced in 2005, it is hoped that the Channel will prevent such an event from ever recurring.
According to the Minister, the actual excavation of the earthen channel will be undertaken by the government and will not be contracted out. The Ministry has purchased 10 excavators which are scheduled to arrive in the country shortly.
These will be taking care of the actual excavation works on their own. The structures that will be needed along the route, however, will be tendered out and according to Persaud, the tenders are to be advertised shortly.
The construction works will involve gated regulators at the Conservancy and at the Coastal end of the Channel as well as a bridge where the Channel cuts the Public Road. At the Conservancy Head, there will be a three-gate structure to aid in the discharge and retention of water from the Conservancy into the Channel. It is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $520M.
When the Channel crosses the East Coast Public Road at Hope/Douchfour there will be a bridge across the channel that cost approximately $451M.
At the seaward end of the Channel there are to be two discharge options, a low level sluice and outfall structure that will cost some $319M while the other option is preferred by engineers since it will reduce the need for periodic dredging of the Channel. This preferred option, however, is a high level weir and outfall which will cost approximately $635M to construct.
The East Demerara Water Conservancy is a water catchment system composed of a large reservoir fronted by an earthen dam and drained by a number of small channels which are used in times of heavy rainfall to release the water into surrounding waterways.
In dry seasons the water is used for irrigation purposes in the surrounding areas most of which engage in agricultural activities, and is a big part of the reason why farmers in the region are able to have two crops.
However during the intense levels of rainfall experienced in January 2005 the dam was almost overwhelmed. The overtopping that occurred caused a marked increase in water levels and exacerbated the widespread flooding; however, had the dam given way, the consequences would have been far greater.

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Hope Canal closer to reality

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