Work on $156M Greenfield Pump Station moving apace

Construction of the multi-million-dollar pump station at Greenfield, East Coast Demerara has been moving apace, after some initial delays and disappointments. Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud is hoping that the structure would be ready for use during the current La Niña weather phenomenon.

With a drainage capacity of 240 cubic feet per second, the soon-to-be completed station will drain some 4,800 acres of land in the Bee Hive-Ann’s Grove-Clonbrook and contiguous areas. Currently, the two pumps at Greenfield drain 80 cubic feet per second. The new station is being built at a cost of $156 million; and, Minister Persaud said, it is part of long-term measures to bolster capacity to deal with the kind of intense rainfall the country now experiences. He acknowledged being dissatisfied with the pace at which the project is proceeding, but pointed to weather and acquisition of land as constraints.

A section of the area where the station is being established was privately owned. “Given those factors, we were hoping to have this (construction) finished for the rainy season; but we are still pushing the contractor as much as possible, and the consultant (is) overlooking this project,” Persaud said. 

Accompanied by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer Lionel Wordsworth, the minister spoke with contractor Harrychand Tulsi on site during an inspection of the project on Friday morning. A team from Al Jazeera news agency was also on site, and interviewed the minister on climate change and related activities in Guyana.

The Greenfield system is a major drainage and irrigation outlet on the East Coast Demerara. It has attracted significant attention and investments, especially since the Great Floods of 2005.  Construction of the Hope drainage canal for the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) is also ongoing. The canal will complement existing drainage systems at Greenfield. Persaud said there have been some problems with soil, but those are being overcome.

Persaud told the media that, while such projects are ongoing at various locations, the NDIA has to ensure that existing structures and systems are working effectively in anticipation of heavy rainfall during this La Niña period. Noting the evident build-up of silt on the Greenfield foreshore, he explained that dredging of the outfall would start on Monday, December 6th. The dredging equipment has already done some work in Linden, and on the East Bank Demerara, West Coast Demerara, and on Leguan Island.    

However, the minister cautioned: “I always point out that there will be instances of flash flooding, notwithstanding the projects and the interventions that we are making.”

Guyana is already into the rainy season, and periods of intense rainfall usually occur in late December and January. However, with climate change, the weather has been unpredictable. As such, Minister Persaud said: “… when I get my three-day forecast, we prepare for every day being a heavy day, because we don’t want complacencies in the system.” 

Stressing that “kokers have to be opened on time (and) pumps have to be working”, he explained that his regular on-site visits are to ensure that things are in order, since sometimes there are reports that the systems and structures are working when, in fact, the situation on the ground is different.