… excess water in the EDWC discharged into the Mahaica Creek, farmers fear losses
RESIDENTS, more particularly farmers, in the Mahaicony and Mahaica Creek areas are on alert after the decision by the Agriculture Ministry’s East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) Board to discharge the excess water in the conservancy into the Mahaica creek in a controlled manner. The excessive rainfall, a result of the La Nina phenomenon, has seen the water in the EDWC rising at an unprecedented rate, hence the need for a discharge which will be done via the Maduni and Lama outlets.
That process began at 6:00hrs yesterday and the Civil Defence Commission has been made aware of this decision.
According to a statement from the EDWC Board, the average level of the conservancy yesterday was 57.8 Georgetown Datum (GD), which is above the full supply level of 57.5GD.
The height of the conservancy dam is 59 GD; and from the onset of the La Nina phenomenon, excess water has been evacuated from the conservancy into the Demerara River via the five-door sluice at Land of Canaan and outlets and Kofi and Cunhia sluices.
The current ongoing construction works of the new northern relief channel at Hope/Dochfour, East Coast Demerara, is expected to boost the drainage capacity of the EDWC.
These works will provide relief to the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary and East Coast Demerara communities during periods of prolonged and heavy rainfall, as is being experienced.

First line of action
In an invited comment, General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), Dharamkumar Seeraj, said the first line of action in view of the rising levels in the Mahaica Creek is to ensure that the river dams are not overtopped.
The Mahaica Creek has a number of rice farmers who stand to lose millions if their fields become inundated – an added challenge considering the fact that harvesting has been held up because of the heavy rains. 
Seeraj said he has been in talks with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lionel Wordsworth, and suggested that excavators be on site to build low lying areas.
“We are doing what we can. The water level in the EDWC rose significantly in a short space of time yesterday to today…right now the first line of action remains ensuring that the river dams are not overtopped,” he said.
He added that RPA representatives are on the ground to offer what support can be given, and added that the association will maintain a presence in the areas.
Additionally, Ministry of Agriculture officials are also out in full force and extension officers from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) were up to yesterday meeting with farmers.
While farmers expressed appreciation for the support, the pressing concerns were:
* A fear of a repeat of the 2005 floods;
* The need for assistance to move cattle out of harm’s way;
* The need for immediate action, not when the water levels have gone down; and
* The need for tangible assistance to provide some means of compensation for losses.

Fear of losses
Several farmers shared their concerns with the Guyana Chronicle and the general consensus was a fear of significant losses, in particular of losses coupled with obligations to financial institutions.
One rice farmer, Dayanand Maraj, pointed out that many farmers took loans to service their crops, while others made capital investments in the hope that this crop would give them a return on the monies spent.
He noted that he has over 70 acres of rice currently under water and is doing what he can to salvage his yield.
“Right now, what I doing is pumping the water out of the field, but the rain not helping, and now the Mahaica Creek level rising,” Maraj said.
Another farmer, Shamshundar Ramrup, said he has not estimated his losses yet, but definitely expects there to be losses due to the prolonged rains.
According to him, he has a total of 450 acres of rice, 187 acres that are 67 days old and the rest that are 114 days old, past the time for harvesting, since fields are harvested between 105 and 110 days.
Ramrup said, “The big problem is the overtopping of the dams and we are hoping that does not happen.”
One of the more distraught farmers who spoke to the Guyana Chronicle, Hemalchal Hariprashad, said the 250 acres he cultivated, which is around 128 days old, is a lost crop.
He said he has been pumping water out of his fields for the last few weeks, an undertaking that costs him $50,000 each day in the cost of fuel.
“Day and night I have three pumps working, and every day is like $50,000 going down the drain. I stopped the pumps because now the river rising. If the dams overtop, then it’s lost cause anyway,” he said.
Hariprashad pointed out that he is still in debt over capital investments he made to bring the current crop under cultivation.
“On one side is the rain, so we cannot harvest; and now we have the creek water coming up and if this crop is lost, is millions lost,” he said.
The most recent update from the Agriculture Ministry’s Hydromet office was that the persisting La Nina conditions are expected to result in intermittent rains that are heavy at times, in the next 24 to 36 hours.
Flood warnings are in effect across the country and persons requiring more information on the weather can secure this via the Ministry’s hotline numbers: 223-7291, 227-5049, text messaging at 691-0000 and website www.agriculture.gov.gy .