Ministry helps Caroni community to avoid flooding

An embankment along the Caroni River in the vicinity of Ibis Gardens, Caroni South Bank Road is being restored by the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) in answer to months of concerns raised by residents in the area.

Earlier in 2022, swathes of dirt on the banks eroded creating an increased risk of flooding. The danger it posed to the more than 100 residents is now being actively treated by the ministry.

On Tuesday, excavators were packing soil on both sides of the river to mitigate against the chances of flooding. Dirt was piled about ten feet higher than the road for approximately 200-feet along the waterway. That embankment descended ten feet to another embankment that was, itself, ten feet higher than the river.

A petition was written to the ministry's director of drainage and signed by more than 100 Ibis Garden residents. Residents later contacted their MP, the Works Minister and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for help.

In a phone interview on Wednesday, MP for the area Dinesh Rambally said he contacted the drainage department at the MoWT, the Local Government Ministry and the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation asking them to repair the embankment.

"Since last week, a lot of work was taking place. I will visit to see how far they are coming along and look at the width of the embankment. I have to inspect for my own self whether they are only embanking with dredged material. That kind of river silt will not be the proper embankment, in two or three rainfalls that will wash back into the river. At the higher parts, it needs proper backfill."

Monique Ramdawar, who has been living in Ibis Gardens for 11 years, said she is "so thankful for the quick support of the corporation to get it started and save a disaster from happening."

Andre Ramsahai, another resident, was on site on Tuesday morning. He spoke with representatives of the drainage division and noticed that they placed pickets along the bank, indicating how far they want the bank to go back. Officials said if they did not move some of the material and the river's levels rose too high, the material would be deposited right back in the river bed.

Ramsahai said he was very happy that all parties responded in such a timely manner and that the remedial work was done. He said the work would benefit other communities along the river bank as well.

Despite the remedial work, Ramsahai acknowledged "serious woes ahead with the river, and there is no easy fix."

"As the dirt is now, if it was checked in the dry season, there will be gaping cracks. Once it cracks and water enters, the dirt will wash into the river."

Ramsahai recommended, "a type of matted material that they could place over and along the embankment to reduce erosion. That, and if they were to plant some shrubs or rooted grass to really hold the soil.

"Any time they come to do excavation work, they dig down all the trees."

He said, when trees are removed, surrounding soil loses the support of tree roots making the soil more susceptible to erosion.

Residents recalled the last time that major work was conducted in their area was during tenure of the People's Partnership government between 2011 and 2015. Then, they dredged the river, built the embankment and used two amphibious excavators to get the job done.

Following the current reparation work, residents hope there will be continuous maintenance of the bank so it does not reach disaster level again.

They also hoped the river could be widened as opposed to just dredged. That would allow the volume of water to be spread over a wider area. Moreover, they said when the river is dredged there is greater risk that the embankment collapses.

Attempts to reach Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan for comment were unsuccessful.