‘WATER, water everywhere…’ The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge must have visited Guyana. I am neither referring to the mushrooming drinking water business, nor am I trying to bring attention to my country — Guyana, Land of Many Waters. I am addressing the vexed issue of frequent flooding experienced by most Guyanese.

I can still remember the first flood I have witnessed, and there has since been a consistent series of this problem; and each time the public is offered all sorts of excuses: the pump is down, the gutters are cogged, torrential rain has fallen, the tide has been very high, this is the effect of spring tide, the waves have overtopped the seawall, the kokers have malfunctioned or have been neglected; and the list goes on.

Each time the water makes its destructive incursion into our lives, some of the following occur: properties are destroyed, livestock die, crops are destroyed, goods are damaged, houses are swept away, homes become inundated, utility poles fall, trees come crashing down, schools are closed, markets and other places of business are closed, families are relocated, and the poor are severely impacted.

We seemingly have to accept that floods will be an intricate part of our lives. Is Guyana fast becoming the ‘flood capital of the world?’ Is there no end to this; no solution to save us from the marauding waters?

I sat down with Mr Royston King, PRO of the M&CC of Georgetown, and he explained in detail the factors that cause flooding, and what we are up against. The picture he painted was daunting. According to the PRO, the factors that contribute to the regular flooding we experience are as follows:
1. Georgetown and the coastlands are four (4) feet below sea level, and this becomes approximately six (6) feet below at high tide. Spring tide is another matter.

2. There is a network of canals leading to sluices or kokers that allow the water to flow out into the Demerara River and the Atlantic Ocean. Whenever there is high tide and very heavy rainfall, a crisis is born: The kokers must be kept closed so as to keep out the water from the Demerara River and Atlantic Ocean. The flood created by heavy rainfall during this period must remain until there is low tide. That is when the sluice gates are raised to allow the necessary outflow.

3. Over the years, canals and drains designed to hold or capture excess water have been filled in to make roads and housing areas. Some parts of Cummingsburg, the Merriman Mall and Punt Trench Dam are prime examples. This means that whenever there is the expected excess water, there is nowhere to store it; thus it becomes a flood.

4. There is a sharp increase in the number of residents concreting the surfaces of their yards. This reduces the capacity of the earth to absorb a large amount of water. This excess water then flows into drains that lack the capacity to hold it.

5. The capacity of existing canals has been radically reduced by the indiscriminate dumping of garbage into them. They now hold far less water, and the dumped garbage restricts the outflow of water from them.

6. Seventy (70%) per cent of blockage to drains and canals is done by plastic and styrofoam materials.

7. There is also the heavy aquatic growth in the canals. This is due to squatters using these waterways as toilets. The human refuse encourages rapid growth of aquatic weeds.
8. Approximately seventy (70%) per cent of the city’s drainage reserve is occupied by squatters. This means that these areas cannot be cleaned. This has a negative effect on the capacity and flow of water, because the drains become heavily silted.

9. The thirteen (13) outfall channels are heavily silted. These have not been dredged for long periods. This silt is caused by the deluge of sling mud being pumped down our coast by the mighty Amazon River. That is why all our coastal waters are muddy.
There is also the scourge of derelict boats and ships left in close proximity to the outfalls. These block the progress of the water and add to our problems.

10. In some parts of the city, contractors have built concrete bridges over existing wooden bridges. Whenever a wooden structure collapses, it falls into the canal and causes blockage.
11. Businesses and private citizens build very wide bridges without constructing any manholes to facilitate cleaning of the underlying gutter. This causes heavy blockage.

Mr King suggested that a multi-agency approach would be the only sure way to effectively tackle the flood situation. Agencies like EPA, M&CC, T&HD, Ministry of Infrastructure, CH&PA, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Agriculture (Meteorological Department) should be involved in this exercise, he opined.

The PRO disclosed that, in 1999, a senior engineer, upon the request of the M&CC, estimated that it would take approximately $1B to completely overhaul the Georgetown drainage system. The situation had since gotten progressively worse. This means that cost has gone up tremendously.

According to King, the city’s budget is about $1.2B. This means that the council can’t finance such a critical venture.

King opined that the city needs to find ways of raising money. Over the last two decades, the city was restricted from embarking of a number of revenue raising activities, such as
* A City lottery
* Environmental Tax
* Container Tax
* Charging utility companies for planting posts on the City’s parapets.

Each time there is a flood, it causes untold hardships and damages estimated at millions of dollars. The famous 2005 flood left damages estimated at US$465M. Flooding is something Guyana could ill afford.

Over the past decade, millions have been spent on/or have been borrowed for the purpose of fighting floods.
When will Guyana come to grips with this potentially devastating phenomenon? Will water be a good servant of the Guyanese people, or will it be a bad master?

***PULL QUOTE:
Water – will it be a good servant of the Guyanese people, or a bad master?

***PULL QUOTE:
The record levels of precipitation and resultant flooding in various parts of the capital Georgetown and low lying coastal communities over Thursday night and yesterday is being closely monitored by officials of the Ministries of Public Infrastructure and Agriculture, the latter through its National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), and the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).

By Neil Primus