Alexander Village, Riverview flooding caused by jammed sluice door
Sections of Alexander Village and Riverview, Ruimveldt were flooded yesterday after the Ruimveldt sluice door was not properly closed.
The door was fixed hours after. In a statement, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure said that water was receding off the land in the two areas following what it described as a mishap with the Ruimveldt sluice door which caused the flooding.
The statement explained that the sluice was scheduled to close at 2am yesterday ahead of the 5:45am high tide. However, the sluice door got stuck resulting in the rising water flooding the two communities. The ministry said that a pump was immediately activated and the sluice was reopened at 9:30 am yesterday to expedite the draining off of the water. It added that the ministry offered expert advice to correct the situation while the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is investigating the matter.
In an invited comment, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson told Stabroek News that the sluice was not properly closed when the tide rose causing the areas to be flooded. However, he said, the pumps were up and working and the matter was dealt with.
However, the koker operator who was on duty at the time when Stabroek News visited the sluice, said that although he was not at the site at the time of the mishap, from all indications the flooding was caused as a result of the sluice door being left open instead of being closed on schedule.
