WASA diverts water to help Rock Road flood victims

THE Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has diverted water from its Navet Water Treatment Plant to the three-and-a-half mile mark in Rock Road to help residents in cleanup efforts.

Acting WASA CEO Kelvin Romain told Newsday WASA had implemented the new measure to assist residents of Mulchan Trace, Semungal Trace, Penal Rock Road and surrounding areas.

Most of the flood in the Rock Road area had subsided between midnight on November 13 and midday while westward areas such as Goodman Trace and environs were still inundated.

While residents were trying to clean their homes, they lamented the lack of pipe-borne water left them with no choice but to use whatever they had saved in storage tanks.

The stored water was supposed to last until November 17, when the Desalination Company of TT (Desalcott) shutdown for routine maintenance is expected to end, residents said. This shutdown led to a 40 per cent deficit in WASA supply for South and Central Trinidad.

Armed with a pressure washer on the morning of November 13, Deva Seenath, 50, said he began cleaning around 4 am at his Rock Road home, three hours after the water receded. He said his family could not wait until a pipe-borne supply was sent to begin their cleanup.

"Today, all them tanks and them I going to finish it out on this yard. We have no choice.

"That mud going to stick. That mud going to come like paint. You see the condition of that?"

While residents of the eastern parts of Penal got relief, those along the western parts were bracing for floods as the Curamata River burst its banks due to high tide and water inflow from previously flooded regions.

As of midday Suchit Trace, Gopie Trace, Batchyia Branch Trace and environs were only passable with high vehicles.

These floods forced most vehicular traffic onto the SS Erin Main Road leading to heavy traffic for motorists.

Floods rose due to heavy rain on November 12 brought on by the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone. Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) chairman Gowtam Maharaj told Newsday around 1,000 workers and students had to be transported to their homes in Rock Road and environs with municipal corporation trucks and dinghies between 3 pm and 2 am.

He said the PDRC's appliances will remain on standby to assist residents of the western part of the municipality as water continues to rise. He also called on the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government to do much-needed infrastructural work in the area to prevent these incidents. Maharaj said assessments were still ongoing and was unable to give a figure on how many homes were affected.