– Excavator, punt, pontoon provided to bolster Water Conservancy works
THE function of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) to manage water levels and increase drainage relief capacity was bolstered Tuesday with the re-commissioning of two Lama Sluices, and the procurement of a punt, pontoon and hydraulic excavator.

A view of one of the two newly commissioned Lama Sluices.

The initiative which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Conservancy Adaptation Project was officiated by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud in the presence of World Bank Representative Giorgio Valentini, representatives from the Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU), the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The Government Information Agency (GINA) reported that the two sluices, which were rehabilitated at a cost of more than $49M, will serve the purpose of discharging water from the EDWC into the Lama creek.

Work on the structures took approximately five months to complete and included replacement of the lifting mechanisms and doors, construction of new platforms and stairs.

The punt and pontoon were manufactured by the Guyana National Industrial Corporation and supplied at a cost of over $34M.

Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, and World Bank Representative Giorgio Valentini inspecting the new excavator and pontoon at the Lama Sluice.

The punt has a length of 29 feet, is 10 feet wide and six feet deep while the pontoon has a length of 70 feet and width of 20 feet.

GINA said the punt and pontoon will serve as modes of transportation for the excavator within the conservancy to clear waterways as well as raise and strengthen the conservancy embankment. The excavator purchased at a cost of over $37M has a reach of over 51 feet.

The funding for the initiative was provided by a World Bank grant to the tune of US$3.8M. The works were executed by the GNIC and supervised by the ASDU and NDIA.

Minister Persaud reminded however that the commissioning of the three major interventions is one aspect of several works ongoing at the conservancy which, over the past years, has been perfected to perform its function.

The EDWC is a major freshwater impoundment located in Region Four, 15 miles south of the most densely populated sections of Guyana. It is bounded to the north by a 40-mile earthen dam structure and south by the natural topographic rise composed largely of ancient coastal dune formations.

A view of the hydraulic excavator and pontoon at the Lama Sluice.

The conservancy serves two purposes; first as a flood control structure which prevents water from the back lands invading the coast during the rainy season; and second as a source of irrigation for the agricultural lands during the dry season.

The Agriculture Minister also pointed out that were the conservancy to be breached, the densely populated coastland (70 percent of Guyana’s population) will be affected.

“This conservancy is unique in the sense of the task and its contribution to agriculture economic development but it is also unique in terms of its vulnerability and that is why every single year, at our budgetary level we have to dedicate an enormous amount of resources to ensure that it continues to perform its role,” Minister Persaud said.

At present four excavators, and five pontoons are in operation at the conservancy, clearing the waterways and widening the dam.

Minister Persaud disclosed that the next step will be to garner data through hydro graphic and other advanced surveys techniques to fully understand the demeanour of the EDWC.

Similar assessments will also be done at other conservancies in Regions Two, Three, Five and Six as part of the national water management plan to improve drainage and irrigation.

The Agriculture Minister also said the plan to construct an outfall channel at Hope on the East Coast of Demerara is still on the cards. He disclosed that the final design for the project should be made available within a few weeks.

The World Bank representative who first visited the conservancy in March this year noted that he was pleased to see that the works were completed within the short space of time allotted.

He highlighted the importance of the conservancy in water management and flood prevention noting that it is necessary for this structure to be improved in the future.

Only recently, Norwegian Minister of International Development and the Environment Erik Solheim got a first hand look at the EDWC.

He said it gave him a good overview of the difficulties which the country faces, particularly along the densely populated coastland which is often threatened in times of sea level rise and flooding from the back lands when the EDWC is overburdened.