Despite the commencement of rehabilitation works to correct a dam breach in the backlands of Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, flooding continues to plague inhabitants along Company Dam, New Providence. According to reports received by this publication on Thursday, when high tides come in, the community is flooded.
It was only on Friday last that the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary-Agricultural Developmental Authority (MMA-ADA) had undertaken to rehabilitate repairs to two major breaches along the Perth Canal. As it stands currently, while works have been ongoing sporadically, sections of the breaches are not yet closed, resulting in flooding from the high tides.
One resident told Guyana Times his yard normally floods and he has is not able to replant any of his subsistence crops that perished when the flood waters inundated the area. He explained that when the tides come in the lands become flooded and when it goes out the water would eventually recede but poodles would remain.
“No plants can’t grow back – I used to plant bora, ochro, bulanger,” the resident who works as a labourer noted. It was further explained that this situation has added to the difficulties which some residents have been encountering in finding employment.
The flood waters are also affecting farmers in areas along Branch Road, Mahaicony who have the expensive undertaking of pumping out flood waters.
During the last month Guyana Times had been highlighting that the unrepaired breach flooded hundreds of acres of farmlands during high tides as well as several house lots along Company Dam, New Providence.
This newspaper was told Monday that MMA-ADA had deployed a hymac in the canal on Friday to commence corrective works but setbacks have delayed the rehabilitation.
When Guyana Times contacted the farmers who were adversely affected, they related that they are overjoyed that works have begun but noted that some flood-waters would still come up on their lands.
General Manager of MMA-ADA Aubrey Charles when contacted last week confirmed that works to repair the breach had begun. Based on his assessment, he noted that some months after the dam was constructed, it settled and its height was reduced.
“After the settlement, the height of the dam was below the designed level,” Charles had told this publication.
The General Manager also said the spring tide overflow caused soil erosions which facilitated widening of the breaches, occasioning heavy flooding.
The dam at Perth Canal was rehabilitated around seven months ago when the dry weather caused by El Niño had prevailed but it collapsed shortly after.
The farmers told Guyana Times they had made several appeals to the MMA-ADA to repair the broken sections but their repeated calls went unheeded.
They expressed frustration over the fact that the recent El Niño period was the ideal time to have done the repairs but nothing was done to assist them. Now that the rainy season has started, they lamented they have to suffer losses yet again.
Meanwhile, this publication was made aware that MMA-ADA has visited areas in Branch Road, Mahaica, and works were conducted to correct a malfunctioning pump which had caused flooding in the area. It is unclear if the magnitude of corrective works in the areas has been responsible for the stalled works.
Water being pumped off farmlands earlier this month
