Dear Editor,
WE, a group of concerned and affected residents of the Providence area, are writing to request the urgent intervention of your office in a matter of grave concern which is currently affecting our community.

This issue was previously raised with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), but no long-term solution has ever been provided, nor did we see evidence of any action being taken.

Currently, the residents of the NABI Housing Development (located along the Massy Stores road at Providence) are faced with a situation of high vulnerability to flooding. As a result, our residential community is faced with frequent flooding during rainfall periods. The underlying issue is that linkage between our section of the Providence drainage network and the nearest outfall channel, which is the Peter’s Hall outfall channel, has been completely compromised. This means that rainwater and domestic discharge have nowhere to go. Areas adjacent to our community are faced with a similar problem. This situation is further exacerbated by the fact that the most practical solutions which would involve simply linking to the Peter’s Hall outfall channel through existing drainage canals cannot be implemented in a sustainable manner, since most of these drains are presumably within lands sold to private developers who are filling them all up to increase their land footprint. We have prepared the attached map to illustrate the problem and solution.

As mentioned earlier, this matter was previously brought to the attention of the CH&PA, which could not provide an acceptable response, even to the question of whether any nearby reserves were left between private lands to cater for outfall linkage, and where these reserves are. A ground assessment indicates some disturbing details, for example, a culvert construction by the CH&PA, adjacent to the R. Maye Hardware Store, which may have been intended to facilitate connection to the outfall channel, has become redundant, since the connecting drain which existed was filled up to facilitate construction by the proprietor of the hardware store. Whether this was illegally done or not, the CH&PA should investigate. The proprietor of DAX Construction Services, who is now developing land for commercial use, is currently filling in a connector drain that previously brought some relief during flood events.

The commercial/industrial development, which is currently being undertaken by this individual, is being done on land originally allotted for residential housing (for the Palm Springs Housing Development). It is disturbing that the CH&PA, which is mandated to employ principles of good land use planning, would allow such a development to occur within such obtrusive proximity to existing residential communities. This situation smells of either incompetence or manipulation of the functions of the agency, and is a failure of the system, Honourable Minister; a failure of Government to protect the wellbeing and interest of hardworking Guyanese citizens.

The drainage problem faced by residents of our housing scheme is a real crisis, which will become glaringly evident if nothing is done before the next rainfall season. A few photos of past flood events are attached to orient you with the degree of severity. As a general note on drainage, the CH&PA should monitor the activities of private developers. Simply passing by the Providence Access Road will reveal numerous cases of lawlessness and lack of consideration on the part of some. For example, some have filled their land with white sand all the way to the road shoulder, covering over the entire roadside drain. Some have filled up the roadside drains to provide access, without placing a tube to facilitate continued drainage. Others who have attempted to place drainage tubes, have sought the cheapest solution by using undersized tubes, some of which have been placed too high. Honourable Minister, please direct your staff to devise some kind of strategy to hold these individuals and companies responsible, and for enforcing good engineering practices.

In conclusion, we are kindly requesting that your Ministry look into this matter urgently. We have consulted with experienced engineers who have proposed that Option 1, illustrated by the yellow arrows in the above plan as the most practical solution. Option 2, red arrows, has been ruled out because of the bad practices of private developers who have compromised the roadside drain. Other options, including draining directly out to the East Bank Public Road via the southern roadside drain, have also been ruled out for this reason and other factors, including the characteristic poor maintenance of public drains. The issue of establishing whether the proposed linkage canal is a government reserve, and adjacent access dams along the drain is important to establish. A culvert structure will have to be constructed to facilitate implementation of Option 1. We also propose that the entryways established by DAX Construction Services all be upgraded to include drainage tubes or culverts of adequate size. It is imperative that steps be taken to undertake this work now, during the dry period, which will make it much easier to implement.
We trust that your agency will be proactive in addressing the matters above.

Regards,
Concerned and affected resident of Providence