…further works ongoing to stablilise structure

THE government is contented that the 125 metres beach of earthen dam at Danzigt, Mahaicony, has been fixed to the point where rice and cattle farmers in the area can continue their livelihood.

Following a visit to Mahaicony on Monday, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma, told the Guyana Chronicle that works to further stabilise the fix are ongoing. “The breach at Danzigt is sealed; 70 to 75 per cent is completed. We cannot totally complete the work to 100 per cent because of the rainy season,” he explained. “[But] I am satisfied that the Danzigt area is in a decent situation that the farmers can rest assured that the issue is fixed.”

Due to heavy rainfalls and raging waters earlier in July, embankments at Broomhall, Danzigt and Prospect, in Mahaicony, were breached. Most notable was the Danzigt embankment breach which serves as a barrier to the Bellamy Canal from the Atlantic Ocean.

Nonetheless, from the beginning, several farmers have been collaborating with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and other agencies to remedy the situation.

Speaking of some of the challenges experienced along the way, Sharma told the Guyana Chronicle that one of the main hindrances to a speedy fix was the now non-existent dam which made the transportation of materials difficult.
The current contractors are utitlising barges to reach the area to off load materials such as sand, mud, and boulders. Sharma stated that is has been a challenge to procure contractors who were brave enough to use their excavators near the treacherous waters. “It is a dangerous work. A lot of contractors refused because they fear their equipment would go overboard and sink,” he stated.

The ministry also had to build a costly timber bridge to aid in the transportation of the materials to fix the dam. He stated that the ministry’s teams and other agencies like the NDIA and Sea and River Defence Department are monitoring the rest of the shoreline as some amount of erosion is still taking place.

One farmer, Bernard Baker, who has cultivated 45 acres rice on his portion of land in Danzigt, told the Guyana Chronicle that he was thankful for the efforts of the government to remedy the situation.

Meanwhile, Minister Sharma acknowledged that, from the beginning, the government had engaged the rice farmers, loaning them two long boom excavators to reinforce the dams around their rice fields to serve as secondary barriers to the sea.

Proprietor of 65 acres of land in the location, Romeo Machado, had told this newspaper earlier in July that he was pleased that the reinforcement was done free of cost as this would have cost farmers an additional “fortune”.

Sharma said: “They’re very happy and thankful. Even as I went there this morning, a farmer asked if we could clean the canal for them so more fresh water [can] come into the trench to the lands.”

Some 2000 tons of boulders were delivered to vulnerable sections at the areas for placement along the sea dam. Another 1000 tons of boulders were delivered at the breached section at Danzigt to keep the intense Atlantic at bay while a tender was opened for the supply of 2,500 tons more.

The ministry also opened tender for the construction of 350 metres of riprap structure between Prospect and Broomhall to add to the construction of 325 metres of riprap structure which previously commenced.

The total length of construction between Prospect and Broomhall is 675 metres or over 1,200 feet of works. Minister Sharma stated that the ministry is taking on a more proactive approach to managing such natural disasters in Guyana.

“We’re using drone technology to map the area almost every month so we get a report from the Sea and River Defence team [which indicates, for example] we monitor here and they had about half a mile of mangroves which is now reducing and we can see the gradual [process] of how it is deteriorating and how erosion is taking place. This is so we can actually say that by the next six months, if we don’t do anything, we will have a breach; this is the kind of proactive work we’re doing,” he said.

Even with this, he added that the ministry cannot predict the intensity of the waves and how much damage they will cause as the effects of global warming seem to grow more and more destructive each year.

Sharma stated: “The intensity of these waves is unbelievable; they remove earthen embankment that is 15 feet high, they cut it,”
The ministry was able to step into action either way because it budgeted for such calamity. One of the recommendations coming out of another proprietor of 65 acres of land in the location, Romeo Machado, was that the Ministry uses sheet piles as a permanent fix.
“They got to get sheet pile, plant it down and, if possible, you will get some boulders at the back to break the current of the water and the steel pile is going to prevent the water from coming over. That is the only alternative and that is a lot of money,” he told the newspaper earlier in July.

Minister Sharma agreed on Monday that sheet piles are a good idea but stated that the machinery needed to drive the sheet piles into the ground needs a dam to operate on and presently none exists.

“Yes, the sheet piling is a good suggestion but it has to be done in dry weather and we have to budget for it and it will be possible,” he said.