— NDIA ready to spring into action
AGRICULTURE Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that the interventions made by government have minimized the level of flooding in many areas across the country.
He made this observation in light of the heavy rainfall experienced in various areas over the past few weeks. In an exclusive interview with this publication yesterday, Dr Ramsammy disclosed that the flood watch is on, and the drainage and irrigation systems have been boosted in event of flash flooding resulting from the unusually heavy May/June rainfall, currently being experienced countrywide.
He said that in the Boeraserie Canal, in Region 3, the water level has remained high, but the canal has been able to withstand the stress since there has been no major flooding.
In December last year, and January and February this year, the Canals Polder experienced episodes of flooding. However, in this May/June rainy season, flooding in the region has, so far, been under control.
Meanwhile, in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), management of the water level has been intact since last February, and the option of opening the Maduni or Lama sluices has been ruled out.
These sluices have remained closed up to this time in the current period of rainfall, and Dr Ramsammy is hoping that the Agriculture Ministry would not have to tarnish this record during this rainy season.
“Presently, despite the heavy rainfall that occurred over the past two days, we are still safe; and that’s because we have had a continuous discharge of water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) into the Demerara River from Kofi and Five Doors at Land of Canaan,” Dr Ramsammy explained.
According to him, “We will continue to discharge water into the Demerara River at the western end of the conservancy.”
Farmers in the Mahaica/ Mahaicony/Abary (MMA) area have said that they are seeing black water inundating their farm lands, and they are convinced that this must have come from the conservancy. However, Dr Ramsammy explained that that water the farmers are seeing is coming from the inland area and flowing into the rivers. This, he says, will keep the water level high.
He explained that whenever there is heavy rainfall and the tides are high, the rivers will overflow their banks and invade land nearby. This is called flash flooding, and river banks do get flooding.
The weather condition that Guyana has experienced in the last couple of weeks will continue, and the Hydromet Office is cautioning that, over the coming weeks, there will be continuous periods of heavy rainfall, lightning and thunder, which could cause some flooding.
“The major flooding over the last week because of the heavy rainfall, particularly Thursday into Friday, has been in Georgetown, and many parts of the city continue to have water on the ground,” Dr Ramsammy declared.

Watch City drainage
Dr Ramsammy is urging the Georgetown municipality to look at city drainage. He has pointed to the pumps at Liliendaal and Kitty which are controlled by the City Council. Water remains high in many parts of Georgetown, and the Agriculture Minister is cautioning that City Council closely monitors the drains.
He believes that, at this time, emphasis should be placed on effective drainage; and pumps countrywide should be checked to ensure that they are functioning effectively.
He cautioned that some pumps will break down, but someone needs to ensure that pumps are properly maintained, in order to reduce their down time.
“I am happy to say that most of the pumps that are controlled by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) are fully operational, while there are sometimes minor problems being experienced from time to time,” he pointed out.
In the Lusignan area, one pump has been down for the last two weeks because the parts can only be obtained externally. Parts for that pump are expected to arrive in the next two weeks.
In the meantime, the ministry is not anticipating too many problems, as there are five additional mobile pumps operating in the area to ensure that there is not a build-up of water.
Within the next four weeks, a new pump will be commissioned at the Greenfield, East Coast Demerara.
A pump is already working in the area, but a large, fixed-site pump has also been installed. This is just one of the many interventions government is making as it continues to build structures to tackle the effects of the unusual May/June rainfall and climate change.
Ramsammy however cautioned that persons living along the coast should not be fooled by periods of sunshine, as the weather pattern they have seen in May will continue in June, resulting in periods of intense rainfall that could lead to flash flooding.
While some amount of rainfall is expected in July, Dr Ramsammy is hoping that there will be some relief in due course.