THE excessive rainfall, a result of  La Nina phenomenon, has seen the water in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) rising at an unprecedented rate and is a clear validation of the need for the Hope Canal.
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 and provide relief to the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary and East Coast Demerara communities during periods of prolonged and heavy rainfall, as is being experienced.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud has said that the Hope Canal alternative will make the management of the EDWC safer and more reliable for drainage and irrigation.
Currently, the EDWC levels are dropping after being at a dangerous high, and was drained off into the Mahaica River via the Maduni and Lama outlets.
The EDWC capacity is 59 Georgetown Datum (GD) and, on average, its levels range between 50GD and 57GD.
However, the highest level of the conservancy dam was nearer to 58GD on Tuesday evening, but from the onset of  La Nina phenomenon, excess water has been discharged from the Conservancy into the Demerara River via the five-door sluice at Land of Canaan and the Kofi and Cunha sluices.
The Maduni and Lama outlets were sought as the other options to further take off the excess water, since the northern relief canal is still some 18 months from completion.
The dynamic that technical officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders found themselves in – the excessive rainfall and a high tide- is clear justification for the Hope Canal Project.
Guyana’s drainage systems are geared to deal with 1.5 inches of rainfall, but over the last few days NDIA and other arms of the government have been battling with some eight inches and, in preceding weeks, a rainfall that exceeded six inches.
With the persisting La Nina conditions, these adverse weather conditions are expected to continue, spelling trouble for Guyanese across the country, moreso for rice and cash crop farmers, as well as the sugar industry.
No government will ever be able to fully compensate farmers for losses sustained during such conditions, especially not a resource-constrained country like Guyana, which is why the long-term investment in infrastructure is imperative.
The Hope Canal project will see minimized use of the Lama and Maduni outlets, which means fewer problems for farmers in the Mahaica and Mahaicony areas, where thousands of acres under cultivation are often inundated.
It is much more feasible to make the massive long-term investment, rather than try to give what, for them, may seem like meagre compensations as assistance packages to farmers, who definitely want more than handouts of fertilizers, an animal or two, planting materials, or even technical assistance.
Government is promoting the Grow More Food campaign and several prominent stakeholders in the project have made it clear that once the market is there more persons would take the concept on board.
However, as a facilitator of entrepreneurial activities, government has the responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to support investments.
If the current situation worsens, hundreds of farmers stand to lose millions of dollars that should have been a return on the investment they made – clearly a valid enough reason why the Hope Canal is a necessity.
Still the critics expound their predictions of doom and gloom, rather than look at the bigger picture and see that the investment being made is worthwhile.
Granted, some level of opposition is needed to ensure that taxpayers’ monies are well spent, but this should be done by way of constructive criticisms, not opposition for just the sake of opposing.
Flashback to the 2005 floods that devastated thousands, and consider the fact that inroads have been made in bettering the capacity of the EDWC – no one wants a repeat of such losses and, with the Hope Canal, Guyana is ensuring that it offers the people some level of protection.
Climate change continues to manifest itself in different forms and the erratic and unprecedented weather patterns are  clear indications that more advances need to be made in the climate change fight, not to satisfy the critics, as that is not likely to ever happen, but to prevent major devastation.
Guyana is finding means and ways to cope, but the Hope Canal is increasingly becoming a definite need to ensure that the EDWC is better managed and the country’s drainage and irrigation capacity of the coast, the most vulnerable area in Guyana, is improved.