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Claxton Bay residents are calling for their drains to be cleaned, the river dredged and for a crackdown on illegal structures obstructing the watercourse following heavy flooding in the area on Tuesday.
Yesterday, several residents at Springvale, Cedar Hill Road, Lightbourne and Housa Street, Gasparillo, Carli Bay and Windsor Park, California, were still cleaning up debris from their homes and properties and drying and discarding their belongings after being hit by severe flooding on Tuesday.
The floods followed torrential rainfall due to the presence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the passage of a tropical wave near T&T, according to the Met Office.
At Mt Pleasant Road, one of the hardest hit areas, residents expressed frustration and called for compensation.
Although the area is flood prone, residents said the situation has worsened because of blocked drains, illegal quarrying and residents building illegal structures which have narrowed the river. In fact, they claimed they were affected by waist-high water levels in some areas.
Tricia Caton said since last year she has been pleading with the Works and Transport Ministry, the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry and the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation to bring some relief.
“I have sent emails and begged them umpteen times to come and clean the drains. Nothing has been done, is only excuses upon excuses I getting, the excavator down, the backhoe not working. People just coming and taking pictures,” Caton told the T&T Guardian.
Her nearby neighbour Michelle Saunders complained, “People doing illegal quarrying, all the sand fulling up the drains and you getting a more serious flooding.”
She also said a resident had built a concrete wall in the drain, creating a bottleneck.
“So people creating their own problems too,” said Saunders.
Fed up of having to throw away appliances and furniture due to flooding, Hazel Quamina-Hart is also asking for compensation.
“We lost everything. Last year we had to throw away things, now we have to throw away things again,” she said. Quamina-Hart said improper drainage contributed to the flooding. She is praying there is no more flooding because she is preparing for a wedding ceremony at her home on Saturday.
Councillor Nadia Khan-Mohammed said the drains and the river fall under the jurisdiction of the ministry, but for almost two years the drains there and at the Cedar Hill Road have not been cleaned by the ministry.
She said, “Through the corporation sometimes we try to assist, but we have limited resources. In fact, we have next to nothing.”
She said the corporation has two mini excavators but no money to service them, which sometimes results in them breaking down.
Khan-Mohammed said illegal encroachment on the river and road reserves was rampant in the electoral districts and have been contributing to the flooding. She said last year the corporation had put a stop to the illegal quarrying in the area. Corporation members, including the Disaster Management Unit, assisted families by pumping out water from their homes and delivered hampers and mattresses.
Chairman Henry Awong said the corporation will continue to clean the minor watercourses while the ministry cleans the major waterways. However, he said, “They have started in some areas but not enough is being done taking into consideration that we are in the rainy season.”
WASA plants disrupted too
The Water and Sewerage Authority is advising customers of a disruption in their water supply after heavy rainfall caused several of their water treatment plants (WTP) in North Trinidad to shut down.
In a release yesterday, WASA said heavy rainfall over the past 24 to 36 hours had caused the shutdown of their plants because of several issues, namely turbid river conditions, clogged intake screens and power failures.
The authority identified the affected facilities as Tompire, Grand Rivere Well #1, Matura, Aripo, Quare, Guanapo, Caura, Luengo & Naranjo and Acono WTPs.
Areas affected by the shutdown included Toco, Salybia, Valencia, Arima, El Dorado, Tacarigua, Maracas - St. Joseph, among others. The plants are expected to return to service when conditions normalize at the various locations, WASA said. “In view of this situation, customers are advised to manage their water use efficiently, as it may take up to 24 hours thereafter for the restoration of their scheduled pipe borne water supply. The authority wishes to assure customers that the water currently being supplied through its distribution system complies with the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality of the World Health Organisation and is safe for use.”
Customers were asked to contact WASA’s Customer Call Centre toll-free at 800-4420/26 for further assistance.