— Agri. Minister tells residents
— gauges to be installed within the next two weeks in main canals to monitor water levels

BLACK Bush Polder, one of the areas most severely affected by the ongoing flooding in the country, will soon benefit from two new pump stations to assist with drainage and irrigation.
This was disclosed by Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, during a recent outreach there.
During a series of meetings last Saturday in Johanna, Mibicuri, Lesbeholden and Yakusari, Minister Mustapha made the pronouncement and told residents that these projects are currently being advertised.

“Two new pump stations will be built in Black Bush Polder. Those projects are currently being advertised, so within another 12 to 14 months, Black Bush Polder will have two brand new pump stations. One will give you irrigation water and the other will give you drainage. These pump stations form part of the government’s overall developmental agenda for agriculture in the region. Agriculture is very important to us and so is Black Bush Polder,” Minister Mustapha said.

Although water levels in the farming and residential areas have dropped significantly, areas in the backlands, like the Cookrite savannahs that are designated cattle pastures, remain flooded.
The minister also told residents that his ministry, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is working to have those areas drained as soon as possible. He told residents that the water have to pass through the main canals and that a careful system has to be put in place to ensure areas in the front lands do not become flooded once more. He also told residents that water level gauges will be installed in the main canals to ensure water levels remain low to avoid overtopping and further instances of flooding in the residential and farming communities.

“There is a lot of water in the backlands in the cattle pasture. That water still has to pass through the main canals. We’ll continue to put systems in place. We have additional pumps at Number 43 Village. The technical officers are also working to develop a system to drain the backlands without flooding the farming and residential areas in the front lands. Like I mentioned before, all the water has to pass through these canals and we have to be very careful. The forecast has predicted that we’ll be having more rains, so we have to ensure that the main drains are low. I’ve instructed the NDIA to install gauges in the drains so that residents can know and monitor the water level in these canals. These gauges will be installed within another two weeks. People should not keep water in these drainage canals as a reservoir because when it overtops, persons in the residential and farming areas will be flooded,” Minister Mustapha said.
Furthermore, Minister Mustapha said that his ministry intends to establish an independent drainage canal for Johanna. He also told residents that in the long term, the government intends to establish a drainage structure similar to the one located in the Hope Canal, in Black Bush Polder.

“When we were in government, prior to 2015, we had started that project. We’d already started some work. NDIA has been working to resuscitate that structure. We are also looking to establish a bigger structure because Black Bush Polder is a very critical area for agricultural development in Region Six. We have to ensure that we put systems in place for the long-term, so when we have heavy rains, areas like Johanna wouldn’t be easily flooded. We have to have a structure similar to what is at the Hope canal. All these main drains will be linked to that structure so that the excess water can drain into the Atlantic. We are looking at it. We have to get funding for it,” Minister Mustapha said.