Work Begins on Yabra Canal Drainage

Just before we went for the Easter break we told you how the Belize City Council was getting ready to start the process to remove the silt backed up in the Yabra Canal which has been causing problems to fisher folks as well as to residents in the area. In that interview, Councilor Philip Willoughby said they were aiming to have the water pumped from the canal in order to better remove the silt. They had already dammed off parts of the Canal. On Wednesday, Willoughby gave us an update on that situation.

Philip Willoughby, Councilor, BCC

Phillip Willoughby

“The project is still fluid. It is still ongoing. Unfortunately, the rains came. We never thought – never before has nature has been unkind to us in this manner approaching June. I can’t recall whenever we had the rains. But we hope that we can clear up that matter and then proceed forward because we still have the silt built up in the canal. Unfortunately, the rains came but we have to deal with that and that won’t stop the project from going forward. We will have to clean the canals with the silt build up. We know that with the rains additional silt will come down through the rivers anyway and then when the rain stops we still have the situation to contend with. So, it is still fluid and ongoing. We have the reports. We are still putting the figures together to see what it will cost us based on what DOE calculated and then we go from there.”

Willoughby says that the official report’s findings will be released in the coming weeks. That comprehensive report will provide an insight to the causes and what solutions are needed to address the recurring silt problem in that canal.