Last night, we told you about the frustration of the Belize City Residents who were suffering with the foul stench of dead fishes in the canal which runs along the length of East and West Canal Streets. For a few days now, large groups of fish were suddenly turning up dead in the canal which was stagnated by 2 recently-installed clay dams.
We've since learned that these clay dams were set up by engineers working on the Climate Vulnerability Reduction Program. It's a comprehensive mitigation plan for Belize City that is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Government, through the Ministry of Works.
When this program is completed, it should allow for quicker run-off of water which often inundates flood-prone areas of the city. But, to get the preparatory work done, they had to block off the flow of the canal, which caused mass deaths to the fishes in the canals.
You heard how JP Grace Flowers complained bitterly about how the stench is affecting her health, as one of the City residents who live beside the canal. That prompted the management team of the Climate Vulnerability Reduction program to step forward and offer explanations of what their goals are, and what went wrong with the dead fishes.
This morning, the Project managers gave us insight into how this project will work to improve flood resilience for all the areas near the City's canals. Here's how she explained how it will work:
Orchel Usher - Project Manager, Climate Vulnerability Reduction
"Under this project, the Climate Vulnerability Reduction Program, we have a system that is being constructed for the entire downtown Belize City area, which includes not only the Z-Town Canal, the East Canal, but also the Collet Canal, and the North Creek Canal, including the outlet at the end of Yarborough, the Haulover Creek."
"The entire idea for the project for this area is to employ a pumping station system, where the large pumps will be placed at Yarborough outlet. The idea is for us to have a system where we'll have some sluice gates. These are some vertical gates that will be placed at strategic locations throughout this canal system, one at the Haulover Creek/East Canal Junction, one at the Collet Canal Haulover Creek Junction, one at the North Creek or the South Creek Junction by Mex Avenue, and right where the pumping system would be. The idea is that if we have a heavy rainstorm event - and this is only catering to rainstorms, not a hurricane or any major tropical storm like that. Only for heavy rainfall, what will happen is - and the system will be controlled by the City Council. They would activate the system. The gates would close, preventing any water from entering into the canal system from the Haulover Creek, or the Caribbean Sea. The pumps would be activated, and it should be able to completely evacuate all the existing water in the canal system over a 2-hour period. That will then allow all the rainwater that's entering this area that is normally flooded to enter into the canal. So, we keep the pumps going. The water is being evacuated, while we're still harnessing the [rain] water so that it does not flood this area. That's the entire concept for this area."
We asked specifically about the fish-kill problem that the construction is causing, and here's what Usher had to say about how long residents will have to endure the stench in the name of progress:
Orchel Usher - Project Manager, Climate Vulnerability Reduction
"So, for the East Canal section, we've already completed the cleaning of the Collet Canal and the North Creek Canal. And for this week, starting mid-last week, we moved on to this canal. What has been happening is that we started the works by first installing some clay dams, which we see here at this end, and at the end, near Regent Street. And the entire idea of this is so that we could de-water the entire section, completely remove all the water as quickly as possible, get in, remove all the sludge and the dredge material that's inside the canal as quickly as possible, identify any area along the canal lining that needs to be quickly repaired. And as soon as that is completed, we remove the clay dams, so that this entire area is totally clean."
"We started with the works mid-last week. Unfortunately, the situation with the dead fishes - and we've also found a couple of dead dogs in the canal - on Saturday, we were out here pumping and getting the water level down, and that is when the fishes started to float up. Immediately, we employed the contractor to clean the fishes and the dead dog. Between Saturday and Sunday, the canal was cleaned immediately. Unfortunately, we had some equipment issues. So, the work had to cease on Sunday, and between that time and Monday, more fishes started floating up and were dying, which we've already remedied, and we're out here cleaning as quickly as possible. So, in terms of a period for the works, we expect a week to two weeks more to just get this entire area completely clean and completed with. So, we ask the public's attention and patience as we move along and deal with the cleaning of this area."
The project team has since set up a telephone number for residents to call, if they need to raise an alarm, share a concern, or communicate a grievance about the project. If you are encountering any problems due Climate Vulnerability Reduction Program, you can call the cell phone number, 614-3195.
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