Routine maintenance, desilting to address Lucea flooding crisis
Published:Friday | September 9, 2022 | 12:10 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Matthew Samuda, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, says proper maintenance of the Riley River in the short term and desilting at a later date will be key to addressing a recurrent flooding crisis plaguing Lucea in Hanover.
“The river itself will need some amount of desilting, and we will need to ensure that the invasive bamboo species that we are seeing is actually maintained and not allowed to enter the river in the way it did that triggered the most recent floods,” said Samuda, who toured the flood-prone section of the Hanover capital yesterday with Homer Davis, state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister – West; Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels; and representatives of the National Works Agency (NWA) and the National Environment and Planning Agency.
“A collaborative maintenance programme between the HMC (Hanover Municipal Corporation), the NWA, and the Forestry Department will be put in place to ensure that the bamboo does not become the danger it was ... during the flooding of the town,” said Samuda, who expressed concerns about environmental issues, including the building of houses along the river banks.
FUNDING IN PLACE
Samuels said that funding is in place to undertake the announced maintenance programme.
“Presently, our chief engineering officer and the parish manager at NWA are working together. Programme estimates are in place already to deal with the maintenance aspect on a short-term basis, so we are there, the funding is available, and we are ready to go now,” said the mayor.
He also noted that the desilting of the river remains a high priority.
“We want to get it done because it (flooding) is affecting all aspects of the Hanover society right now, both socially and economically,” said Samuels, who said the HMC would be taking the lead role in the maintenance of the river, although it is primarily the responsibility of the NWA.
“Even if it is going to cause the municipal corporation to go bankrupt, we are ready to get this over and done,” he said.
While not speaking on Samuels’ intention to take the lead from the NWA, Samuda said the Government wants the flooding problem to become a thing of the past.
“The Government is clear – whether central or local government – that the people of Lucea have to be protected and we have to keep the roadway clear,” said Samuda. “Obviously, the mayor has ultimate responsibility to make sure, as the first citizen, that things are maintained.”
Lucea has experienced severe flooding several times in the past few months as the Riley River overflowed its banks. The crisis has repeatedly brought life in the town to a halt for hours, frustrating business operators, residents, pedestrians, and motorists.