Govt. wants to spend $32B to tackle flooding

Apr 28, 2022 News

…Jagdeo announces at Berbice outreach

A section of the residents who turned out to the meeting at Dundee, Mahaicony

Kaieteur News – Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday led a Cabinet outreach to the Mahaica-Berbice Region where he told residents of Dundee, Mahaicony that some $32 billion will be spent to tackle flooding across the country.
The funds will be split between Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Island-West Demerara), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Corentyne- Berbice) this year, he told the community. Jagdeo said, “We have been tackling this issue of flooding across the country. Because of climate change, we have had unusual weather patterns. Many of the farmers in this area, and this is a predominantly farming region have suffered enormously from flooding and we made it clear that we want to address this issue in the long-term.”
He said that government, when they constructed the Hope Canal in Region Five, had anticipated to keep the East Coast of Demerara safe from conservancy threats and to avoid excessive water being released into the Mahaica Creek. The Hope Canal, Jagdeo said, has been effective in keeping water off of the land, but a new plan is being developed to help the administration manage overtopping.
To this end, he said, “I convened, maybe three or four weeks ago, a group of people from Regions Two, Three, Five and Six and there was a presentation on various initiatives which could cost as much as $32 billion in these four regions to tackle the long-term flooding.”
Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lionel Wordsworth explained that between the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary Block, the backlands are not adequately protected like in Region Four where the water is held back by the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EWDC). As a consequence, Wordsworth said that when these areas experience rainfall, at levels equivalent to that of mid last year’s, the water overrides the swollen rivers and downstream flooding occurs.
In this regard, he said that the NDIA has compiled a list of proposals, one of which will be to construct a flood embankment from the Joe Hook area to the Baibo Canal in Mahaica which will lead to a current embankment. A second phase of this project will take the water to another location to add further protection.
In addition, he said, “We proposed a new outlet to be added at Dantzig. This would entail cutting across the road, upgrading channels, constructing new sluice and pump stations like what we currently doing at Cottage so the work at Cottage and what we propose at Dantzig, they will complement each other.” This project alone would control some 8,400 acres of flood affected lands. Meanwhile, Mahaicony will see a flood embankment being constructed from First Point to the Abary River. The agency is also seeking to add a new outlet between Letter T to the existing sluice. The government is also planning to dredge the mouths of the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary Rivers.