The truth behind the flooding

Apr 03, 2011 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Over the years, Guyana’s low coastal plain has been beleaguered by periodic flooding which would invariably follow intense bouts of rainfall.
The low-lying nature of the strip sandwiched by the Atlantic and the conservancy was always going to be problematic for the inhabitants who chose to settle here largely because of the fertility of the alluvial soil.
The English writer Anthony Trollope had in fact remarked in his travelogue to Guiana that the inhabitants of this coastal strip were indeed living in a trench.
The coastal plain of Guyana, a narrow strip of land stretching 425 kilometres between the borders of Venezuela and Suriname, lies below sea level and is subjected to flooding and erosion. The developed portion between the Pomeroon and Corentyne rivers is approximately 270 kilometres in length and the width of cultivable lands increases from about 10 kilometres to 25 kilometres from Essequibo to Berbice.
The zone is of strategic importance to the country’s economy. Although its surface area is approximately 5% of the country’s total, approximately 90% of its population (or 675,000 people) live here.
The Dutch, who were the first to establish large scale agriculture on this coast, implemented an elaborate system of drainage and irrigation which was to serve as the matrix of the future habitation of this area.
Today, with the added complication of global warming and resultant sea level rise, the continued occupancy of this area will depend on a number of factors largely within the remit of the Government.
Firstly, the quality, efficiency and efficacy of the drainage infrastructure will be of paramount importance.
According to the authority and expertise with which the AFC has been in consultation, the operation system today is still much the same as it was when it was originally constructed.
Many secondary drains do not drain directly into the sea but into a façade drainage canal running parallel to the coastline, which drains into the sea through a pair of sluice gates.
Drainage for the whole area therefore is dependent on the efficient management of this façade canal.
The efficient operation of the system is also dependent on regular maintenance. Canals require weeding and clearing three times a year. If this does not take place, vegetation slows water flow and this causes the canals to silt up more quickly, which further slows the flow.
Over the past decades, the neglect of essential maintenance to the D&I infrastructure has led to the current situation in which much of the system is not operating to full capacity, and some sections are completely inoperable.
With regard to the situation in the Georgetown area, there are numerous clogged trenches and canals which aptly demonstrate the veracity of the above. Moreover, when the occasional cleaning does occur, the material is left on the parapets for so long that it invariably falls back into that trench or canal.
The residents of Albouystown, with the recent rains, lost an array of household appliances as the water poured into their homes. Also, in one case that we are aware of, residents were marooned with an invasion of worms from overflowing sewerage pipes coming from the punt trench dam.
The greatest insult to the people of Guyana who live with these poorly cleaned trenches and blocked drains full of overflowing garbage and sewerage, is that it is us ordinary citizens who must travel on foot or bicycle through these waters to etch out our daily bread.
Amazingly in the middle of all this, as we see in Georgetown – the government and the City Council seem to think that “cussing each other out” in public and playing the blame game is an appropriate way to handle this atrocity. Who is searching for real long-term solutions that will reduce the now common losses we face after the smallest flooding, in fact who really cares?
Recently, the rice, livestock and other farmers of Mahaica and Mahaicony were inundated by the release of water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy. The AFC encourages all Guyanese to read and contemplate the media reports covering the emasculation of these residents and farmers by the invading waters.
Mr. Naresh Bhagwandeo of Big Biaboo, Mahaica Creek who is a large-scale rice, cash crop and cattle farmer, told the media that since the rainy season started several weeks ago he spent extra money to pump water out of his 10-acre of crop which included peppers, tomatoes, passion fruit and watermelon that were planted on high land.
However he soon had to give up the fight and watch helplessly as the water covered “everything.” Frustrated with the constant flooding in the area, Bhagwandeo said he feels like “stopping this work and invest in some other business but I born and grew up in this.”
The AFC believes that such a situation is totally unacceptable and has gone on too long. We all knew that the effects of climate change were coming, but nineteen years later – a generation later, what has the PPP done to address this serious issue? What has changed after all these years? Finding real solutions must be a matter of policy for any humane, responsible and caring Government. It would seek to tangibly intervene and provide relief for the aggrieved.
The thousands of acres of agriculture which have been affected in this case will no doubt be reflected in the further diminution of our already meagre GDP.
All the residents and farmers who have communicated with the AFC have indicated that they wish to be compensated for their losses in the face of the deliberate release of conservancy water.
They have stated clearly that the so-called relief package that is invariably provided in such situations is grossly insufficient and insignificant in covering their basic production cost. According to the calculation of an AFC team which visited the Mahaicony River, the damage was estimated to be more than $500 million. (Please note that this figure is reflective of this area alone).
The AFC recalls that in the aftermath of the 2005 flood, the celebrated Guyanese economist Dr. Clive Thomas had called for compensation and financial assistance as part of the reconstruction strategy. The AFC will be following up with these aggrieved residents and farmers to ensure that justice is indeed delivered.
The party submits that an intervention is required by the State to sustain the buoyancy and resilience of our fragile economy. This was the fundamental premise behind the Stimulus Package that constituted the American response to its financial crisis. The non-response of this PPP administration to the devastation of the Mahaica/ Mahaicony farmers and the fact that this situation seems to occur over and over again is another concrete example of madness that engulfs our society.
The Alliance For Change knows that we all as Guyanese citizens deserve so much better and much of this catastrophe lies at the foot of our Government.
When elected, the AFC will find long-lasting solutions to this complexed problem. You have the power to change this! Soon!

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