THE poor drainage system in the capital city must be tackled from the planning stage right up to the enforcement of legislation, Head of the Dutch Risk Reduction (DRR) Team, Rob Steijn, has said, as he presented to Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson a menu of recommendations that flowed from a careful assessment of Guyana’s drainage system.

The final report is expected to be submitted before the end of this year.

Steijn, a Social Scientist, said Guyana needs to upgrade its drainage network on both technical and managerial levels. He confidently emphasised the need for an integrated approach to be taken. “If you don’t manage it properly, the system will fail; and if your water system fails, your country will fail”.

Guyana’s water system is in dire need of attention, he posited, noting that the government’s predictability to water issues must be improved. As a short-term solution, Steijn said, small-scale dredging can be done.

These recommendations were presented to the two government officials on Thursday in the boardroom of the Agriculture Ministry at Regent Street and Vlissengen Road, Georgetown.

However, Steijn’s presentation was not all doom and gloom. Rather, he noted that the observations were “not all bad”. He said, “There were good things, and other things that need some improvement.”

Steijn noted that The Netherlands has significant experience in drainage, since, like Guyana, it is low-lying. Most of The Netherlands is below sea level.

In total, Steijn made seven recommendations, which are: Upgrade modelling capability; increase flood resilience of people and businesses; upgrade dredging capabilities and improve flow efficiency; develop long-term plans; develop and test a pilot project; develop and apply a life-cycle approach for the drainage assets; and data management through digitisation.

His recommendations have been endorsed by team members Judith Klostermann and Fokke Westebring, a civil engineer.

According to Steijn, the team received much support during its time here in Guyana. “Everything was arranged extremely well; it could not have been better. All persons we met were very knowledgeable and dedicated,” he emphasised.

The Dutch team’s trip involved a flyover of Guyana as well as a dozen interviews with local officials.

Upon their return to The Netherlands, the team would analyse the data collected before submitting the report, which is expected to be presented to the government by mid-December.

In delivering remarks subsequent to the presentation, Minister Patterson said the DRR Team was very impressive in the execution of its duty. He noted that, within just a few days time, the team was able to make spot-on assessments of Guyana’s ailing drainage network.

Patterson said the information presented by the team has helped the ministries to have a greater understanding of the situation at hand. “We don’t see it as a critique; it’s all a learning process,” he posited. He has since offered his support for some of the recommendations given.

Minister Patterson stressed the importance of the report being more than just another report. He indicated that, since taking office, he realised that previous studies had been done, but their findings had never been implemented. He said that reality needed to be changed.

He also used the opportunity to thank the Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Ernst Noorman, and the DRR Team for their collaboration and assistance.

The team returned to The Netherlands yesterday.