CITY HALL yesterday issued a press release in which it appealed to all Guyanese to help it keep the 12 drainage canals that service approximately 644.5 miles of drains and 102.5 miles of alleyways around the city free from impediments, so that they may flow unhindered into the Demerara river.

Explaining how the drainage system works, the release said it was vital to public health and safety that the system be allowed to flow unhindered in order to effectively address the issue of flooding and minimise, if not eradicate, the issue of mosquito breeding, both of which can be injurious to public health.

The release lamented that the Atlantic Ocean deposits large quantities of mud in the drainage system with each tide, and said this in itself tremendously aggravates the city’s drainage problems.

However, the release lists the council’s current constraints as the following:
1: Financing to effectively execute its mandate, hire adequate staff and procure vehicles to transport staff, equipment and materials.

2: Post-1970 Georgetown having the same drainage system but no catchment areas, whereas those existed before.
3: Squatters occupying 13-odd square miles of city reserves, preventing access to the machines that would clean the canals.
4: Heavy aquatic growth in the canals and the wanton disposal of waste into canals and outfall channels.
5: Heavy siltation in the Demerara River.
6: Vessels which harbour in channels, restricting the flow of water from these channels into the Demerara River.
7: Unreliable support of fuel to pump the water into the Demerara River.