A sluice door at Number 52 Village Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Bebrice-Corentyne) collapsed on Friday evening. With the highest tide for the year expected on Sunday, both residential and farmlands are under threat.
The incident occurred at about 19:00h as a direct result of the current spring tide, this newspaper was told.
The sluice door at Number 52 Village Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Bebrice-Corentyne) collapsed
However according to Regional Chairman David Armogan mechanisms have been put in place to reduce flooding as efforts are being made fixed the sluice door.
He added that the regional administration was able to install stop blocks on Friday evening while the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) transported planks from Georgetown to assist with reducing the flow of water coming from the Atlantic.
“We were also able to get some from the Sea Defense and some from a sawmill at Crabwood Creek.” According to the chairman, most of the flow has been blocked and the sluice door will be attended to at the end of the spring tide.
However, Regional Agriculture Coordinator Dennis DeRoop explained that residents from Number 46 Village to Number 65 Village could be at risk since the sluice was used to drain all of those villages in addition to some cultivation areas in the backlands.
“That area drains from Number 49 to Number 51 which falls under the Number 51/Goodhope NDC as well as from 52 to 64 Village which falls under the 52/74 NDC. Additional to that it drains the cattle pasture between 52 and Number 66 as well as the area that they refer to as the Number 52 Scheme where we have about 8000 acres of rice there.”
DeRoop further explained that rice has already been harvested hence any flooding to the rice farms would not have a devastating impact.
The current spring tide has a five-day forecast with Sunday being the highest.
