BELEAGURED farmers and other residents in Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary are looking towards better days with the announcement Monday by President Bharrat Jagdeo that cutting a new channel to drain excess water from the massive East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) is now a top priority.

The government is allocating $3B to build another canal from the conservancy through Hope, he announced during a tour of the major agriculture region, sections of which are again under water released from the EDWC through the Maduni outlet.

According to the President, the land for the channel has already been identified and half of the money will be allocated in this year’s budget with the remainder to be provided next year.

The decision for a new channel to ease the flood woes of people in this area, a prime region for rice, other crops and livestock, including cattle, will not be without repercussions on other sections of the population.

As Mr. Jagdeo pointed out during the tour of flood-hit areas, allocation of funds for this project will mean cuts in budgetary funds for other areas.

But postponing opening up a new outlet for water from the EDWC is not an option to be considered at this time given the geographic and weather realities of Guyana.

The fact is that record heavy rains have put strain on the conservancy, which holds about 100 square miles of water and is vital to sugar, rice and other agriculture mainstays of the economy.

President Jagdeo noted that it has to be kept in good shape and releasing water through the Maduni Creek was unavoidable, even though the impact on people in Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary has been tremendous.

Excess water puts a strain on the earthen dams of the basin and any significant burst can mean devastation in many parts of East Coast and Georgetown.

If the water level is too low, sections of the dam may collapse inwards, posing huge problems for people.

The President explained that prior to the rainy season, the level of the conservancy was taken down to 52 GD (Georgetown Datum) but because of the amount of rainfall, it rose to 59 GD and this had endangered the embankment.

It therefore became imperative to discharge water through the Maduni because if this was not done, the pressure could have caused the conservancy dam to break, emptying the more than 100 billion gallons of water in the basin onto the coastland, creating devastation, he noted.

No one can deny that the government has spent huge sums since the disastrous floods of 2005/early 2006 to improve the drainage system and other flood control mechanisms.

These investments have paid off as is evident in the prevailing circumstances. For instance, there have not been reports of people having to be evacuated from villages because of floods and of soup kitchens and shelters being opened for the victims, as happened in 2005.

Much has been achieved but much more has to be done before life for folks in vulnerable parts of the coast, like the East Demerara, Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary and the Pomeroon can begin to breathe and sleep a little easier when the storm clouds gather.

Investing in the new Hope channel for the EDWC will not be without pain but we are sure the majority of Guyanese will understand the exigencies of the situation and the need for urgency in opening it up.

Other plans include raising the embankment of the EDWC, putting in more sluices and buying more pumps to bolster drainage by gravity flow.

These are among the stark realities that countries like Guyana, with the majority of the population and the bulk of the economic activities based on a coast that is below sea level, must confront.

There is no avoiding this reality.