Black Immigrant Daily News
The National Roads Authority (NRA), along with other agencies and partners are on the road today (Monday) assessing impacts of Hurricane Ian, which has now made movements away from Grand Cayman.
Also joining the efforts is Jay Ebanks, Minister of Infrastructure, who spent part of the day in North Side.
Reacting to what he discovered in his electoral district, Minister Ebanks said that North Side “feared out very well.”
[There were] just some leaves on the road… all the drains are working properly. Only one place is settling water… at the corner of Rum Point.
In connection with the NRA’s visits to other locations, Minister Ebanks will communicate later today with the NRA’s managing director, Edward Howard, to get apprised of the NRA’s main concerns across the island.
Regarding these issues, it is noted that some are actually reocurring ones. These include debris washing up on the roads and flooding in low lying areas.
In connection with this, the NRA typically meets with stakeholders prior to a storm to make careful plans. Some of this planning involves the following:
Completion of annual hurricane preparedness exercises with the Public Works Department (This is done before each hurricane season and has been ongoing for the last 35 years)Assessment of government facilities, installing/repairing hurricane shutters and stocktaking of storm-related suppliesDeployment of equipment to various locations in advance of the hurricane to prepare to serve those areas after the hurricaneDesignation of tentative debris sites Stationing of drain crews across the island to assist with flood emergencies when it is safe to do so
Working together like this allows agencies to prepare and plan for natural disasters, rather than simply react to them. It also helps to improve efficiencies.
Notwithstanding the good intentions behind these plans, however, there are some challenges.
One such challenge is stormwater management, for which a stormwater management committee has been set up by the Ministry of Infrastructure.
One of the expected outcomes of the work of the stormwater management committee is to make recommendations to the Ministry as to what other methods of stormwater management may be effective in addition to drain wells (vertical drain wells are not the optimal solution in some areas, depending upon the level of the water table and, as such, a variety of methods must be studied).
In addition, it may be the case that Cayman’s planning laws have to be amended to include stricter requirements, along with curbing some unwanted practices (e.g., building homes higher than one’s neighbours, knowing that flood water will end up on neighbouring land, flooding that property).
Commenting on the work of the stormwater management committee to address these issues, the NRA managing director Howard said:
At the conclusion of the work of this stormwater management committee, it is anticipated that a lot of issues that have been ignored over the years will be corrected.
Basically, stakeholders will have to stop operating on an “ad-hoc” basis, that is, cease adopting their own procedures and approach when it comes to stormwater management. Instead, uniform rules and a stormwater management framework must be put in place.
Mr Howard also noted that the NRA is in the process of developing a pilot programme to be deployed in flood prone areas in Cayman as an alternative to vertical drain wells. Some of these areas include Randyke and Prospect in George Town and Cumber Avenue in Bodden Town.
As to the main objectives of this pilot programme, Mr Howard said:
The aim of this pilot is to determine what mechanism works best for the flood prone areas.
One possibility is the creation of injection wells drilled below the water table, without contaminating the ground water.
There also other options that the committee may explore.
Alric Lindsay, chairman of the NRA board and who accompanied Mr Howard on the assessment of various locations today, said that the key to adequately dealing with issues is implementing measures that will be effective in the long-term.
Ultimately, vertical drain wells will not resolve all flooding problems.
Therefore, the pilot programme and work of the stormwater management committee must be supplemented by a long-term sustainable development plan and rules that are enforced from early on in relation to proper stormwater management. That is, accountability must be a dominant feature across the entire stormwater management framework to ensure a successful stakeholder outcome.
Alric Lindsay, chairman of the board of directors for the NRA
NewsAmericasNow.com
