THE East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) had reached a critically low point last week, but rainfall currently being experienced has replenished it, according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. “The conservancy was depleting rapidly, and had fallen below the 53 GD (Georgetown Datum) critical point. At that point you need to bring water to the conservancy, and we do that in two ways,” he told the Chronicle in an interview at his office yesterday.

Dr. Ramsammy explained that when there is a high tide and water rises in the river, there is unsalted or “sweet” water deep down. He said that when this occurs, the sluices to the head regulators, such as those at Maduni and Lama, are opened to allow the water to flow into the conservancy.
However, the minister emphasized that this has to be managed, while stressing that it can only be done when there is a high tide.

In addition, he advised that the salt content of the water must be measured and continuously monitored.

“…you have to measure the salinity because, in the dry weather, the salt water encroaches deeper in, and you don’t want salt water in the conservancy. So we have to monitor the rivers continuously, like every hour during the day and at different distances,” he added.

Ramsammy noted that while this has been the only method used to bring water into the conservancy thus far for the year, water could also be pumped into the conservancy during low tide; but that could risk bringing salt water deeper into the rivers, which would affect cash crop farmers, rice farmers, and even cattle, because they have to drink the water.

“Thus far, I have avoided pumping into the conservancy. If we had continued with the El Nino impact into late December, I would probably have had no choice but to pump water in,” he noted.

The minister highlighted that the level of the EDWC has a bigger impact than people might think. He related that water in the conservancy is not only needed for irrigation purposes, but for other agricultural purposes as well, such as transportation.

“How does GuySuCo transport its cane? Through the canals! And if the canals are too low, the punts cannot operate. So it’s not just for irrigation purposes we need the water,” he explained.

The Agriculture Minister also revealed that the water level has, in fact, impacted sugar production for the last few weeks. For instance, in Enmore, the low level of the conservancy had prevented cane from being transported to the estate.

Ramsammy reiterated the importance of managing water levels in the conservancy, noting that as the pressure of too-high water could break the dams, dryness occasioned by too low water could cause the dams to crack.

Although speaking specifically about the EDWC, Minister Ramsammy disclosed that the situation is equally applicable to other conservancies around the country.