Options limited in battling Berbice and Region 9 floodwaters - Agri Minister

Options limited in battling Berbice and Region 9 floodwaters – Agri Minister

Jul 08, 2017 News

The authorities have cited that there may not be many options available to combat floodwaters in Berbice, and in the Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo Region Nine areas.

Cattle in a flooded area behind Black Bush Polder yesterday.

Yesterday during the post-Cabinet press briefing, the media was updated on the situation in these two areas which have placed both the lives of persons and livestock in jeopardy.
Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder, said that while several regions have drainage and irrigation systems, this is not the case in the area where the flooding is taking place in Berbice.
It was reported that the Canje Creek, which provides drainage and irrigation to Berbice, is now overflowing due to excessive rainfall. This has resulted in flooding in the Kokerite and New Sukhram Cattle Pastures which are located between the Black Bush Polder rice cultivation area and the Canje Creek neighbouring rivers and waterways.
These areas, the Minister said yesterday, are not declared drainage and irrigation areas.
Holder said that a battery of engineers have been deployed to look at the system and see what can be done. He noted, also, that there is the possibility of using additional pumps to allow the New Sukhram Cattle Pasture area to drain through places like Black Bush Polder – which is adjacent to the flooded areas.
Holder admitted that this approach may be problematic, because if too much water flows through into Black Bush Polder, the rice farms there could be cast in jeopardy.
“Farmers in the Black Bush Polder area have expressed concerns about draining through their lands,” Holder said. He explained that the irrigation canal that brings water from the Canje Creek to Black Bush Polder is filled with “lease water”.
“So in any event, we will have to flush that water out of the system, which means you’ll be draining the cattle pastures before you can have irrigation water, but you don’t need irrigation water now because you have lots of rain,” he said.
The Llivestock Authority is on the ground looking at whatever mitigating factors can be implemented, the media was informed.
The Minister said that the authorities are exploring all limited options available.
As few as the options may be, there is more that can be done when compared to the flood situation in the Rupununi, Region Nine, Holder declared.
“In the Rupununi you have a situation…Here you have bright sunshine in the Rupununi, no rain but the Ireng and the Takutu (Rivers) have been backing up. It has risen. Now this is problem, because it is not a Guyana situation.
Holder explained that the water in the Ireng River is rising due to the excess water coming from the Amazon, Rio Negro, and Rio Brenco rivers in neighbouring Brazil.
“This is a problem, because what can you do about that? It’s not a Guyanese problem. What do you do in such a situation as in the Rupununi?
Holder said that the Civil Defence Commission is in contact with the Brazilian authorities to see what can be done to address the issue.
With regard to the number of animals that were claimed to have been lost in the floods at Berbice, Holder said that this was untrue. He said that trips would have been made via a helicopter to the affected areas.
“We saw about 20 or so, and there’s probably more than that,” he said.
Yesterday farmers were trying to get their animals to whatever high ground remains.