EMERGENCY works are currently being conducted at heavily-eroded and breached sections of the Mahaicony sea defence as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure seeks to, as much as possible, safeguard residents during the overtopping expected during the coming spring tide.

Executing these emergency flood protection works is the Sea and River Defence Department which has taken note of the sections of sea defences impacted by the cyclic erosion of the foreshore and natural depletion of the mangrove forest.

In a release on Thursday, the ministry reported that significant overtopping has been occurring at the sea defence embankment within a 3.0 kilometres stretch of shoreline between Fairfield and Dantzig on the East Coast of Demerara.

“The Ministry of Finance recently approved a contingency allocation to support the efforts of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure in executing sea defence construction works at Mahaicony. These resources are being utilised to engage multiple contractors in key construction materials supplies and works execution contracts which will be executed concurrently to achieve faster implementation,” the ministry indicated.

The spring tides are expected from October 25-30, 2019. According to the department, the upcoming spring tide period will be one of the most pronounced for the year and will likely impact a number of vulnerable sections of the sea defence.

The ministry is therefore working to reinstate sections of the earthen embankment by constructing a rock armour facing on the seaward slope as an erosion control measure. The medium-term solution works are being undertaken by A and S General Contractors Inc. which is working at the Fairfield and Broomhall area and BK International Inc. which is working at the Dantzig area.

Four other contractors have been engaged to simultaneously deliver boulders to the work
sites along the Mahaicony foreshore by barge, and with trucks via the ECD Highway.
Compromised access dams and the deterioration of the sea defence embankment have increased the difficulty of transporting construction materials.

According to Chief Sea and River Defence Officer, Kevin Samad, the intensity of erosion and the extensiveness of the foreshore impacts have not been experienced in such consistency along a localised section of Guyana’s coast in recent years. He stated that multiple incidents have taken place whereby tugs and barges have been accidentally grounded while delivering boulders to the site. “These challenges have contributed to delays in the advancement of the works being undertaken,” the release stated.

The Sea and River Defence Department, in collaboration with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), is also working to minimise the impact of overtopping on agriculture lands.
NDIA has installed three mobile pumps at Cottage and Dantzig to discharge excess water from the Bellamy Canal into the Atlantic Ocean, which prevents the intrusion of salt water onto adjacent agriculture lands.

Meanwhile, cofferdam works are also ongoing to prevent the flow of excess water to residential areas. In the future, Samad said that adaptation of the sea defences will be required to achieve a more resilient flood protection scheme.

“This overall integrated and strategic approach will require that consideration be given to
implementing foreshore stabilisation measures and landward offsets that would enable
adequate retention spaces to absorb overtopping discharge when extreme events are
experienced,” the release explained.

Samad highlighted that while much progress has been made in reinstating sections of the Mahaicony Sea Defence to a reasonable degree, several exposed sections of embankment still exist. Nonetheless, the ministry has assured that the Sea and River Defence Department will continue to pursue actively, the required measures to mitigate the impacts on flooding on coastal communities.

Even so, residents of low-lying coastal communities are being advised to take the needed precautions during the remainder of the spring-tide period.