FLOODING in the villages of Patentia Housing Scheme and Vriesland on the West Bank of Demerara was the result of a blocked waterway in the Wales Estate Backdam on Saturday, while the situation was compounded on Monday by a sluice attendant leaving a sluice door open during high tide.

The sluice attendant of the Vriesland koker, who had been disciplined in the past for similar error in duty, has since been moved to the Patentia pump until disciplinary actions are laid against him. The blockage in the Estate backdam had been fixed since Sunday.

Residents of Vriesland awoke on Monday morning to find the drains overtopping and sections of their yards and streets inundated, with reports quickly circulating that the sluice attendant forgot to lock the sluice door prior to the high tide on Monday.
The pressure of the water prevented the door from being closed once the water from the high tide had already started to flow inland.

“It had to do with the sluice attendant not closing the sluice door in time. He opened the door gone home and sleep and over sleep and the tide turn around and started to come back in. The koker ain’t break down or nothing. He went home and sleep way, by the time he come back the tide already come in, that was the cause of the problem,” one resident of the area explained.

The issue returned flooding to the adjoining community of Patentia which had already first experienced flooding on Saturday due to the Wales Estate blockage.

Overseer for the Toeuvlugt/Patentia Neigbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Glennis Castello, reported that it was by chance that she discovered the flooding while out investigating another issue in Patentia. She was also informed of the sluice door of the Vriesland koker [door]being left open. However, she noted that the Vriesland does not come under her NDC.

“I did not get a report but I was in the area investigating another complaint and I realised that the place was flooded. So I did a little walk around, and people start telling me that this thing was since before, but that this morning the koker was left open so they had more water than was expected,” Castello explained.

The Vriesland community comes under the Regional Democratic Council’s jurisdiction. Regional Chairman, Julius Faerber, confirmed that he was informed about the Estate’s blockage, but received no reports about the any issues with the koker.
“I was told that the Wales Estate had cleaned one of their sideline dams, and some stuff floated up to the front and caused the water not to drain properly, so the water raised and went into the scheme and flood some of the houses, and streets and so on,” Faerber explained.

Regional Engineer, Vaughn Solomon, confirmed that reports were received on Monday morning and a Regional Democratic Council (RDC) team was dispatched to investigate the situation.

Officer in Charge of the Wales Estate, Charles Brown, confirmed that the Estate had an issue with a blocked drain on Saturday, but said the issue was dealt with on Sunday. He too confirmed receiving reports of the sluice door being left open.

“In Patentia is not the sluice had the problem. Saturday there was an issue with a blockage in the sideline in the backdam, the water didn’t get to come out, and that cause the water to back up. That was fixed the next day. It was already cleared around 9am – 10am. Now then last night the sluice was opened and not closed back in time, [Monday] morning one of the residents came to my house to report the problem,” Browne explained.
“It’s not the first time it happens the same guy left the koker before. Sometime in 2017 it happened and he was suspended for one month.”