What Ministry of Works doing to lessen flooding

ROHAN SINANAN

AS MINISTER of Works and Transport, I take this opportunity to respond to several assertions made by Peter O'Conner of Cascade, who penned a letter to the editor titled "Retention ponds will not solve city flooding crisis.”

While I commiserate with the citizens impacted by the scourge of flooding, a lot of what he says in his letter is based on a gross simplification of issues on a subject which many people may not have technical and scientific grounding. As Minister of Works and Transport, I believe that specific facts need to be clarified.

Firstly, retention and detention ponds work in various catchments. Both function differently. These structures control storm water, provide retention and in some cases treat contaminated runoff. In this way, the excess water is captured and retained then released slowly over a longer period.

The event that transpired on August 3, along with all the previous flooding episodes of the past, is unfortunate. O'Conner suggests that the latest flooding was caused by habitually clogged watercourses which need to be cleared. However, it is essential to point out that the Drainage Division, in its yearly programme, desilts and clears numerous channels across the country. In fact, the ministry has ramped up this programme over the past years with an understanding of the changing weather patterns and has considered the increased strain on infrastructure by manmade forces.

Works of a similar nature have been executed and emergency measures are also in progress to ensure that the channels, especially in the Maraval and St Ann's area, have the existing capacity restored since the abnormal rainfall last week. It should be understood that this is a constantly ongoing process as each weather occurrence results in a need for cleaning to be undertaken across the country.

Under our desilting programme in the Maraval River between Andaluseia Road and Morne Coco Road, the La Sieva ravine, Perseverance silt trap and La Sieva silt trap were cleared before the event. Also, in the St Ann’s River, the silt trap located at Belmont and from Old St Joseph Road to the highway downstream was cleared. Presently in the Wellspring/Cascade area, works are being undertaken to ensure the capacity is reinstated.

As well, works are being undertaken in Eccles Avenue and Morne Coco Road near the silt trap, Maraval to clear all debris. Our river control workers were also deployed to clear any blockages in the area. All other silt traps will be revisited, and attempts will be made to clean and clear each area in a timely manner.

I highlight these works to state that the ministry is in fact "clearing all drains of bush, dirt and debris during the dry season,” as well as the wet season as they become reclogged.

Under the ministry’s development programme, associated rehabilitation works on the St Ann's River were recently completed. This involved repairing the invert and walls downstream of the silt trap and installing 11 flap gates on outfall drains at various locations on the river.

However, in this immediate context of personal loss and distress, it is crucial to understand that flooding is caused by several factors and the clearing of channels is not the only flood mitigation measure. Building retention ponds, embankments, silt traps, check dams and other hydraulic measures are not the ultimate answer. Consider all of the inconsiderate acts where people dump refuse into the channel or denude our hillsides. To end the scourge of flooding disasters, a co-ordinated approach is necessary.

To this end, the ministry pursued a technical assistance grant from Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), a multilateral financial institution, to develop a drainage strategic plan to derive solutions to mitigate flooding across Trinidad. This strategic plan would guide the way we address flooding and advise on short, medium and long-term measures and, yes, would also involve detention ponds in certain areas.

Although we cannot predict where a retention pond would be located in Maraval at the moment, using the Gulf of Paria as a retention pond is definitely not possible since the sea cannot act as a retention facility. All of our responses must be made with the utmost care and consideration to preserve all aspects of life.

Solving the effects of climate change will require complex and novel approaches. While we clean up our streets and homes after a flooding incident, it can also be helpful to view the crisis from a global perspective. Realise that communities worldwide are facing similar challenges as evidenced by flooding in the US, China, India, Mexico, Italy, and the Philippines, just to mention a few.

Given this global challenge, the ministry will continue to be guided by experts in the field as we seek to implement technically sound strategies based on engineering best practices. Anyone with interest in this area should strive to learn as much as they can, looking at the problem holistically with an understanding that there is no blanket solution.

Once again, before sharing information on a public platform, I urge that due diligence be carried out since ignorance only leads to chaos and actions that go against the solutions we require.