Public to blame for flooding

CITIZENS are to be blamed for the extensive flooding which has been frequently occurring over the last few weeks, because they dump garbage and slash and burn indiscriminately. Such is the view of officials from the Enviromental Management Authority (EMA) and the Community Environment and Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), as they spoke of the cause of the weekend floods which left one woman dead and incurred thousands of dollars in agricultural and household losses.

EMA Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Dave McIntosh said in an official statement: “As long as the wanton disposal of waste and other litter is continued by members of the public, then massive flooding during the rainy season will continue.” He identified the dumping of plastic bottles into our nation’s rivers as the major cause of city flooding. He said the bottles “cause severe blockage of the city’s drainage system and in turn cause incidents such as the overflow of waterways.” Another contributing factor, according to McIntosh, “is the clearing of lands.” He explained that this “contributes to the rapid runoff of rainfall onto these lands and flash flooding.” McIntosh commended the work of CEPEP, but said it was not enough as “the hearts and minds of the nation’s public need to become sensitised to the importance of proper waste disposal.” He advised the public to “avoid flood waters at all costs, as they may contain high levels of bacteria, sewage and toxic substances.”

Alicia Charles, the EMA’s Corporate Communica-tions Manager, was unable to say how many Certificates of Environmental Clearance (CECs) have been granted for hillside developments. She pointed out, however, that not all projects required CECs and prior to 2001 CECs were not required and EMA could not issue retroactive certificates. Corporate Communications Manager at the Solid Waste Management Company Ltd, David Fraser, denied that CEPEP workers were partly to blame for the flooding, because of work they are engaged in. He said the debris left by CEPEP contractors on the sides of the roads are not a factor in the floods, because trucks are used to “pick up the cuttings and debris” on a daily basis. Fraser said the debris which caused the flooding consisted of refuse and illegally cut forestry.

He said illegal squatting, illegal farming and destructive slash and burn practices are also factors. As a result dykes are formed in drains which eventually clog and prevent the free flow of water. He said CEPEP foremen are trained by experts in foresty, landscaping, conservation and management. Fraser added that laws needed to be strengthened on waste and waste management. He said CEPEP has been on an education drive, which would intensify in this fiscal year, through the Community Environment Improvement Initiative.