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EWDC’s inability to prevent flooding due to lack of maintenance – UG Lecturer
The persistent inability of the East Demerara Water Conservancy to prevent flooding of the Mahaicony basin may be the result of a lack of maintenance.
This theory was posited recently during the question and answer period following a public lecture delivered by Maurice Veecock, a senior lecturer at the University’s Faculty of Technology.
A long reach excavator de-silting in the EDWC
The contention raised by a member of the audience was that if the Conservancy’s holding capacity is reduced as a direct result of the silt built up on the floor of the channels, why was the Conservancy not being regularly desilted over the years.
Veecock said that lack of maintenance is a key reason behind the failure of infrastructure over the years. He noted that the silt which has built up in the conservancy as well as along the current relief channels reduces their capacity.
Reduced capacity coupled with exacerbated water levels due to prolonged and intense rainfall such as that of the last few years will eventually lead to flooding, which is the situation that faces the people of the Mahaicony/Flagstaff area at present.
He said that whenever a project is completed, an engineer makes provisions for the continued optimal performance of that structure by creating a maintenance schedule.
Since most structures are designed with a particular lifespan in mind, regular maintenance is a requirement for that structure to achieve that lifespan and to operate at its peak performance. Yet this is patently not the case.
According to Veecock, there tends to be a petering off in the diligence with which maintenance is carried out on a structure in the years that follow its construction which is what adds up to the early failure of some of these works and the problem is not confined to the EDWC either.
Former Chief Works and Hydraulics Officer, Phillip Allsopp, weighed in on the issue of maintenance, pointing out that today there are problems with roads, bridges, drainage and sea defence structures that all stem from a lack of proper maintenance.
Allsopp contended that maintenance tends to take a back seat to construction and design but it is equally important to the integrity and longevity of any engineered structure.
He also pointed out that maintenance of key infrastructure is not done for several reasons, citing lack of funds and poor maintenance practices among others.
Yet on the official front, Minister of Public Works and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, is of the opinion that his Ministry is fundamentally able to meet the needs for maintenance and public works. He says that all of his workers are trained with respect to the necessary maintenance practices and the procedures are all standardised although they could be improved incrementally.
Allsopp believes that every public works department needs to have in its possession a maintenance manual.
A repository of tested techniques to make the most out of the materials and manpower available as well as other pertinent information for the engineers in the department.
Benn was unable to say if there existed such a publication in his agency.
The issue of roads came to the fore and the Minister was quick to point out that in such matters, he only has the responsibility of maintaining the declared public roads. Yet just this past weekend he had crews working on Kiskadee Avenue, Sixth Street Cummings Lodge and Dennis Street.
His Ministry is currently engaged on a $190M Urban and Miscellaneous Roads rehabilitation programme that sees them undertaking maintenance works on roads around and within the city wards.
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