Effective and proper drainage systems for any country are of vital importance,

because without them there will be serious implications including flooding and its corollary problems such as health issues, damage to crops, property, goods and important records among others.
In today’s world of global warming and climate change and unusual tidal patterns, drainage systems assume an even greater importance than in the past.
In the context of our country, proper and effective drainage systems have to be a priority because we are below sea level and our economy is driven by agriculture.
Over the years, our government has been investing heavily to improve the drainage systems across the country, particularly the primary systems with huge excavation and dredging projects, building and repairing of kokers and construction of new drainage outlets. Currently, there is the massive Hope Canal project which is aimed at draining excess water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy(EDWC) directly into the Atlantic, thereby preventing flooding in the Mahaica/Mahaicony and other nearby communities. These communities in recent years have suffered terribly because of the unavoidable discharge of excess water from the EDWC during unusually heavy rainfall.
But while there has been tremendous emphasis and work on our primary drainage systems, which has resulted in significant improvements in the drainage sector, there has not been a comparative improvement in the community/secondary systems, which has resulted in periodic flooding of several coastal communities when there is heavy rainfall or overtopping during unusually high tides as we recently experienced.
One of the main reasons why community drains are not in the best shape is because most of the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils and municipalities, which have responsibility for these drainage systems, are themselves not in the best shape because of the long absence of local government elections.
Most of these bodies are functioning at a minimal level or are not functioning, as such, the services they provide to residents within their respective communities are of  minimal standards.
However, two very serious problems which are aggravating community drainage problems are the actions and attitudes of residents as regards dumping of garbage. For some mysterious reason(s), residents find pleasure in dumping their garbage in drains and other waterways making them almost ineffective.
This attitude and behaviour are not restricted to any single community but has become a national problem because it is characteristic of most communities on the coast.
Perhaps one of the major reasons why this lawless behaviour has escalated is because no one is prosecuted for this offence, but what is ironic is that residents do not seem to recognise that they are “shooting themselves in the foot” with their indiscriminate dumping of garbage, because when they block the drainage systems they suffer from flooding when it rains heavily or when there is overtopping.
With the almost universal use of Styrofoam and plastics, the situation has moved from bad to worse and if the “bull is not grabbed by its horns” urgently, then the situation could become most untenable in a shorter time than we anticipate.