The boundaries of Leguan are at the mercy of surging tides as it sits in the mouth of the Essequibo River. As such, the island’s sea defences are of great importance. With the implementation of several sea defence projects, the structural integrity of Leguan’s shoreline continues to be strengthened.
Sea defence project at Cane Garden, Leguan
In Cane Garden, on the northern end of the island, the $44 million construction of 150 metres of rip-rap sea defence structure is moving along and that project is 80 per cent complete. Speaking with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Ranger within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Sukhu Jettoo said that works are to conclude by the end of October as only 17 metres of sea defence are to be built.
The sea defence in Cane Garden borders a canal that separates the earthen embankment from farmlands. DPI spoke with a nearby multi-crop farmer, Rhamat Hussain, to understand the impact of the project on his business.
Ranger within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Sukhu Jettoo
Hussain, who has been working in the area for little over a year, recalled the losses he experienced due to poor sea defences on the island and signalled his support for the project that will protect his livelihood. “We had a flood couple mornings back that damaged a whole set of watermelon… thousands of watermelon and pumpkin and so forth. So, this is going to be a good help for the farmers here,” Hussain stated.
According to Region Three’s Regional Engineer within the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Seenarine Nandram, a sea defence breach spanning 1 km along the earthen embankment occurred in 2010. This event led to the implementation of emergency works. Nandram noted that in 2015, the Government began to upgrade the boulder face structures that were there with rip-rap sea defence structure.
Over in Elizabeth Ann, the $9 million sea defence project begun recently and entails the construction of a concrete crest wall to replace the failed sandcrete structure.
