Heavy, constant rainfall will flood the city, says Mayor Hamilton Green
EVEN if all of the pumps are up and running, Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green is convinced that should rain continue to fall as it did yesterday, the city will not be able to see a reduction in the high water levels. “And this (the water accumulation) has been happening before your grandfathers were born,” Green told a clutch of reporters at his City Hall office yesterday.
Citizens of Georgetown have been calling the City Council since early yesterday morning to express the difficulties caused as a result of the flooding, and this prompted the mayor and other council officers to go out in the streets.
Presently, the pumps not working are the ones at Lamaha Street and Sussex Street. Those in working order are at Kingston, JP Santos, Princes Street, River View, Liliendaal and Kitty.
These pumps should be changed every four to five years, but the cash-strapped state of the council sees them being in use for more than twice that time.
Green reported that over the last 24 hours, there were 5.15 inches of rainfall which, he said, is unusual in any circumstances. However, the system in the country is only designed to take off one inch of rainfall in 24 hours.
The ten outfall channels are supplemented by the pumps at Kitty and Liliendaal, and around 10:00hrs yesterday, all the gates were opened.
According to the mayor, if there is no further rainfall and if the council manages to remove all of the blockages that were found, Georgetown citizens should find relief within 36 and 48 hours.
Moving around the city, he said the officers found a number of blockages caused by garbage pile-up in Kingston, and in certain parts of Werk-en-Rust.

Green said he is still hoping that the council will be able to persuade the government to have the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) install an auxiliary supply to the Liliendaal pumping station, because when the power goes in that area, the pumps cannot be operated; they are electrically driven.

Mayor Green is of the opinion that it is impossible to predict rainfall, even with the equipment available in Guyana, as weather patterns have changed in every corner of the globe.