The cost of Greenvale

Last October’s flooding has been undeniably the worst ever recorded in TT. The cost to repair and move on from that is still being tabulated. However, the cost of repairing one area, Greenvale, La Horquetta, which was the worst affected, begins at $30 million.

After constructing 435 housing units in the flood prone Greenvale community for $336 million, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has spent an additional $30 million in repairs following the floods. Following the two days of rainfall which the TT Meteorological Service said was equivalent to a month of rain, Greenvale and other parts of the country were overwhelmed by the water. The unusual rainfall caused homes to be swallowed by the floodwaters. In the end 435 units in Greenvale were affected, as well as 185 in Oropune Gardens, Piarco. In an email response to Sunday Newsday, HDC said it cost $30,416,004 to repair Greenvale’s houses only, while the cost for further work ongoing in the area is yet to be tallied.

The cost to repair affected homes in Oropune has not been determined, HDC said as work is currently ongoing and hoped it would be completed by the end of July. Of the 17 contractors hired to do repairs in Oropune, seven have completed their contractual agreements.

A total of 45 contractors benefited from the $30 million-repair work in Greenvale, many of them small contractors from within the community. The cost of repairs meant that each housing unit cost $69,921.85, about $10,000 more than the HDC had allocated. Last December, HDC’s managing director Brent Lyons said contractors were to be paid between $30,000-$60,000 per unit depending on the level of work that was needed.

Asked why no deadline was given to complete the repairs, HDC said: “The HDC intended to complete repairs to affected units by the end of January 2019. However, we experienced some challenges and delays, primarily with respect to scheduling as homeowners did not make themselves available for internal works to begin. Additionally, in some cases, contractors were not operating as quickly as we would have hoped: this situation was dealt with. These incidents (and other minor issues) ultimately forced a delay in the completion of the project. The HDC intends to close off the Greenvale Refurbishment Project by the end of June 2019."

Sunday Newsday spoke with Rachael Garrick head of Greenvale’s community group. Garrick said residents were divided over their response to the work done, some were happy while others, including her, are not. Garrick claimed many homes were given “shoddy work typical of the HDC” while others were stellar. She argued that those who received better work were given special treatment as they were somehow affiliated with the HDC. She added that some residents paid additionally for repairs that were outside the scope of works which included tiling, replacing of cupboards and doors, electrical and plumbing.

Garrick said apart from the houses, the major concern is the walls of dirt meant to be a barrier between the drains and homes. She said when the rains come, the dirt will wash right back into the drains continuing the same problems of last year. She said she is unable to get answers from the HDC about it.

“If all else fails what is the emergency strategy? You know how long we begging for a meeting with these people (HDC) but they will go in the media and say this and that. Come to Greenvale and say it. We have to sleep here. Reassure us, not the country.”

Last week HDC, in a media release, said of the 435 units, 375 were completed. Additional work is also being done on the outskirts of Greenvale by HDC and the Ministry of Works and Transport. The work being done by HDC includes: the raising of the containment berm to fully surround the community; the raising of the berm and culvert, crossing the eastern access road; the raising of roadways surrounding the community; and the construction of a road to connect La Horquetta South and Greenvale Park, which will be used an alternative exit route. HDC is also constructing and installing an automated flood pumping station to ensure increased and more reliable pumping capacity at the detention ponds.

In November last year, the Prime Minister said over $30 million was spent on flood relief with an additional $30 million spent on relief cheques to affected homeowners. Some households received a minimum of $15,000 while others got up to $20,000.

Steps to Greenvale

Greenvale was built in a known flood-prone area despite concerns. After the flooding, politicians on both sides of the divide sought to separate themselves from the construction of the housing development. In 2005, under the People’s National Movement (PNM) Town and Country Planning Division gave permission to develop the land and work began in 2007. In 2008, the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) gave “outline approval” along with the fire department.

On June 26, 2009, Town and Country division wrote to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) a “Notice of Refusal” on the grounds that the area was a floodplain of the Caroni River and that no development should take place there, by this time houses had already been constructed.

On October 27, 2011, under the People’s Partnership (PP), HDC wrote to Town and Country telling them they had surveyed the area and made some suggestions that would mitigate flooding which included retention ponds, an embankment and installing pumps. On November 17, 2014 Town and Country granted approval to HDC to continue the project on the condition that the suggestions to mitigate flooding would be implemented, which was done.

The initial project was supposed to have been in five phases but phases four and five, which up to 2014 were not yet developed, were completely abandoned. Phases one and two were completed in 2014 and the third phase was finished in 2015. In September 2015, the PP demitted office following the general election.

Distribution took place from 2014 to 2016. The three phases were completed at a cost of $336 million which included the cost of retention ponds, pumps and embankments. Phases one and two were constructed by Motilal Ramhit and Sons Contracting Limited while phase three was done by Trinity Housing.

Following the flooding, a hydrological report was ordered by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley; “to determine why Greenvale was so heavily impacted and to determine what, if anything, can be done in terms of physical works to interfere with the drainage system there to, if not eliminate, but ameliorate and bring greater comfort to those persons who live in that area.”