Coastal flooding…M&CC monitors overtopping in city

Dec 24, 2016 News

– Operation Room set up to receive info from sluice, pump attendants

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) following a tour throughout the city yesterday, said that a special technical team is in the fields monitoring the overtopping in different sections of the city.

M&CC Town Clerk, Royston King

This overtopping is due to the coincidence of heavy rains over the last 24 hrs (almost 3 inches in a 6-hour period) and high tides, the Town Clerk Royston King stated yesterday.
The city is 4 ft below the normal high tide and an additional 2 ft at spring tide. It depends on a system of sluices and pumps for drainage, he said.
He added that there are five hydro flow pumps along the Demerara River, of which there are operable; two are under repairs.
Also, there are twelve sluices which are opened during low tides to facilitate outflow of storm water. Also, there are four electrically-operated pumps which discharge into the Atlantic Ocean.
King said that over the last two weeks, the City Engineer’s Department has been reviewing the city’s drainage system and drains in local communities.
The Department, he said, has been working closely with the Ministries of Public Infrastructure and Agriculture to ensure the integrity of the drainage system with the areas that fall under the M&CC’s remit.
At the moment, the City Engineer has set up an operation room at City Hall to receive information from sluices and pump attendants, to monitor the situation and provide technical and allied assistance to local neighbourhoods.
“The Mayor and City Council leans upon the understanding and cooperation of all of its citizens to ensure that our drains, canals and waterways are free from garbage and other things that could restrict their capacity to hold storm water and reduce the flow through our outfall channels,” King said.
Last year, the M&CC expended in excess of $500M in drainage works. So far for this year, the Treasurer’s Department has expended in excess of $155M.