IN an effort to alleviate flooding in North and South Ruimveldt Gardens the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, on Tuesday launched a comprehensive drainage programme.

The programme, which is expected to commence today, will be completed in two months and will see strategic mechanisms being undertaken to address the failing drainage system in the communities. According to Ministry of Public Infrastructure Community Coordinator, Neilson Mckenzie, the request was made by Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, for the ministry’s intervention, since the communities continue to be inundated after light showers despite the fact that several programmes were undertaken in the past.

“As you know that North Ruimveldt has almost forever been inundated and our determination is based on the fact that all the preliminary interventions have failed so we have determined that we are going to do a drainage project that envisages draining North Ruimveldt. Phase 1 would entail doing the desilting, the weeding of culverts, drainage and alleyways into South Ruimveldt to ensure that when North Ruimveldt is drained, there will be immediate adequacy and sufficiency of drainage space,” McKenzie said.

He also revealed that the Georgetown Drainage Authority was formed by Cabinet and functions under the supervision of the Ministry of Communities and Public Infrastructure and has been putting mechanisms in place to address these issues. “Investigation and analysis have been completed, the way forward has been charted and we are now getting the necessary infrastructure in place to move forward,” Mackenzie told media operatives.

The project will incur a high cost on the MOPI, which is the sole financier, while the City Council will provide the necessary machinery. Mackenzie said that the project aims, not only to bring relief to the residents of South and North Ruimveldt, but will allow the engineers to learn the faults in the system, while ensuring the canals and kokers are cleaned to create a clear channel for the water to pass when it rains. He explained that currently, North and South Ruimvelt have a two-fold drainage system, with the frontal portion draining forward, while the backward portion is draining backwards.

Acting Mayor of Georgetown, Sherod Duncan, expressed optimism that the project will alleviate the flooding experienced by the residents. “This drainage project seeks not only to do the drainage, but also focuses on fixing the roads, fixing some of the culverts, doing some of the alleyways and also doing portions of Cane View Avenue road and the drains at the back there, so it is a comprehensive drainage programme in South Ruimveldt Gardens and then the project goes across to North Ruimveldt and hopefully in another month or two we see some change with the amount of water on the land even when there is no rain,” he said.

The project will also provide employment opportunities for residents of North and South Ruimveldt and some of the contractors who have been awarded contracts are also residents of the communities. Residents on Tuesday remained hopeful that the programme will alleviate the flooding situation that has been plaguing their communities for many years. “I hope this time something is done because lil water does just gah sprinkle and the whole place flood, it don’t be easy to get in and out, we are suffering for years in South here and the relevant authorities need to come and see what is going on, the drains need cleaning, the place does be stink, you have to be traversing through water, people yard flood out, people losing how much money, it is sickening so I hope this time something happen and no low class wuk in do,” said Melissa, one South Ruimveldt resident.

When this project is completed, the other communities that have been identified as disaster-prone areas and will benefit from similar programmes, are Albouystown, Newtown, Alberttown, Queenstown, Kitty, Subryanville and parts of Bel Air Park.