Task force to improve and management drainage system in Georgetown

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jan 8, CMC – A task force has been established to look at ways to improve and manage the drainage system here.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon told reporters that the Minister of Communities will lead the task force.
“The task force will also be expected to prepare a plan for the long -term development of these works which they are going to do. Cabinet will be expecting to be laid before it, a long- term strategy for the drainage of the city of Georgetown,” Harmon said.
“It is expected that the task force will be utilising the recommendations presented by the team of Dutch engineers, in finding effective drainage solutions for Georgetown. “There are some very serious options. There is going to have to be some radical change in the way we do things and the overall strategy will have to take into account those mandates.”
Last July, the Dutch Risk Reduction team presented a report for the modeling of an effective and efficient drainage system for the city of Georgetown to the Minister of Public Infrastructure.
Earlier this week, Georgetown and other parts of the country were inundated by heavy rainfall .
Georgetown and low-lying parts of communities along the coast were affected by minor flooding due to the heavy rains.
Cabinet was also told that all of the fresh water catchment areas and conservancies were experiencing levels well within their safety margins. Harmon explained that all the relevant agencies particularly the NDIA “are working assiduously to drain the flooded areas.”
The Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is monitoring the situation across the country through the National Emergency Monitoring System (NEMS).