Latest update April 28th, 2026 12:30 AM
Drainage of Georgetown and Guyana’s coastland
Dear Editor,
In a letter which appeared in Kaieteur News on April 22, Mr. Tony Vieira, a former Sugar Estate Manager, has suggested that the Dutch send engineers to Guyana to assist with the drainage problems of Georgetown, its capital city and its coastal areas as only they have the ‘know-how’ to resolve the drainage problem which has been plaguing the country since its inception.
Incidentally, the Dutch has already advised the Government of Guyana on its drainage and sea defense problems and Mr. Vieira could resurrect the recommendations given in reports by them which could be found in the archives of the Ministry of Works, NDIA and the City Engineer’s Office.
He could then review the recommendations given and check which works were done and those waiting to be done to improve the country’s drainage and thus complete the requirements which were recommended by the Dutch to be implemented to prevent recurring flooding. Therefore, as postulated by Mr. Vieira, the Dutch are not needed in Guyana at this time to tell Guyanese what to do with respect to their drainage problems since some of their recommendations are still to be implemented and evaluated.
Global warming does affect rainfall significantly in Guyana since the warm tropical air covering much of its terrain is able to hold much more moisture than the colder air hovering over its forest. When atmospheric conditions are favourable, the tiny moisture droplets in the warm air coagulates into larger drops and return to earth as rainfall. This could happen anywhere in Guyana and if a system is not in place to absorb the excess rainfall, flooding occurs. The earth is getting warmer with ice caps/glaciers at the north and south poles melting at an alarming rate and causing water levels in the oceans to rise, resulting in shorter tidal cycles in many areas. Hence, the Sluices/Kokers in Guyana have been experiencing shorter opening and closing times because of the shorter times in water level differentials to allow for gravity flow to get rid of the excess rainfall off the land.
Yours sincerely
Charles Sohan
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