Pump, other measures reduce city flooding
This morning a twelve-inch diameter water pump was installed at the end of Jane Usher Boulevard to pump out sewerage contaminated water that has been trapped in the area due to the new dredging project. Since the pump was activated, the water has receded tremendously, much to the relief of those residents who have been living under unhealthy conditions for over a month. The machine can pump as much as seven thousand gallons of water per minute and it is expected that by weekend people will once again have access to their yards without getting their feet wet. On Monday evening a meeting was held in Belmopan between the new Minister Responsible for Ports and Harbours, Henry Canton, and representatives of the dredging consortium: Jan De Nul and Hydromar, the project consultants: Universal Dredging Company, and Belize Water Services Limited. It was decided that in order to clean up the mess in Port Loyola they would have to first clear the sewerage outflow canal. That waterway was blocked when newly built dikes collapsed into the channel. Two more canals in the area were also blocked and work is presently under way to clear them. The restoration work is being conducted by Universal Dredging. According to Universal’s chief engineer, Gunter Banz, the water is now down to the original level when the dredging project started in September. Banz explains that one of the canals was not reopened, but instead the water is being pumped over the dike.
Gunter Banz, Chief Engineer, Universal Dredging Co
“The pump has a diesel engine on it and pumps like any other pump. There is no secret about it, only that it is a huge pump, twelve-inch. We are using it over here to alleviate the situation since the canal foes not pull out sufficient amount of water at this time and the pump should help. It pumps the water over the levy and into a holding area, which we use for spoils from the dredge. At the moment we are not dredging, so we can put in plenty of water and as you see the water has gone down considerably here all around, not as much through pumping as through the normal channel.”
Once that canal has been cleared, the machine will be used to clean up the second canal. Banz says he cannot say whether the dikes will hold in the future, however they have taken certain measures to minimise the chances of collapse. Plastic and sandbags have been placed on top of the levy to prevent erosion that would weaken the structure and cause it to break. In the next month selected fill material from the dredging will be used to build up low level lots in the affected area.
