PRESIDENT Dr Irfaan Ali and National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Chairman Lionel Wordsworth have outlined a series of long-term infrastructural interventions aimed at easing persistent flooding affecting both residential and agricultural communities.
During a recent engagement along Mahaicony Creek in Region Five, President Ali acknowledged the severity of the situation but noted that investments made after 2021 had already provided some relief.
“I could see some of the investments that we made after 2021 would have helped a bit. There was still a lot more work [and] that is ongoing,” the President said.
The President pointed to ongoing works on new housing lands, the embankment, and the backlands as part of the long-term solution to recurring high water levels.
Meanwhile, NDIA Chairman Lionel Wordsworth reported that rising water levels had disrupted the current crop cycle, with many farmers unable to sow.
“I have been in this area recently, and both the residential and the agricultural area, much farmers weren’t able to sow for this crop because of the rising water level,” Wordsworth said, noting that the area would “significantly benefit” from the completion of the Hope-like canal project and associated embankment works to several vulnerable areas.
The canal will be designed to replicate the successful Hope Canal model on the East Coast of Demerara, which was built to provide a reliable outlet for excess water during the rainy season.
Once operational, the canals located in Region Five are to directly benefit thousands of farmers and households in Berbice by safeguarding farmlands, reducing crop losses and increasing productivity.
In Region Five, it is expected that the drainage and irrigation structure will target some 214,000 acres of land for drainage while simultaneously opening more lands for cultivation.
Wordsworth further outlined plans to complete an inside dam in the area and extend the embankment. He indicated that this could span “300 or so, or even 600” units of distance. Once these works are completed, authorities intend to deploy a mobile pump during periods of high water.
Meanwhile, President Ali outlined the scale and duration of the adverse weather, noting that both the coastal plain and interior regions had experienced prolonged, intense rainfall.
President Ali referenced the performance of systems on the East Coast as an example of how increased drainage capacity and storage can mitigate flood risks during periods of high water levels.
He said he had been briefed by his technical team on the expected benefits from the Hope-like canal when it is fully completed. He expressed confidence that, when finished, it would provide additional storage and discharge capacity similar to that already observed on the East Coast.
“You had excessive rainfall, not only on the coastland, but for a long period in the hinterland, and in the deep savannahs, in the wetlands.”
He explained that the country is now facing the compounded effect of continued rainfall and run-off from the hinterland as water makes its way downstream.
According to the President, earlier capital works in drainage and flood management were already showing results in limiting damage and disruption to communities.
“Fortunately, this time a lot of the investments we have made will have already started to show how it can help in reducing damage and reducing the impact, so we are definitely seeing some of the results, and we are very confident.”
