Letter of the Day | Reform Jamaica's drainage infrastructure
Published:Tuesday | October 30, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The article written by Dwight Ricketts and Ivan Foreman ('Engineers' Angle: Flooding and drainage control', Sunday Gleaner, October 28, 2019), in light of the recent inundation on Marcus Garvey Drive, seems to articulate that flooding in our cities and major towns may be as a result of a lack of critical thinking in our planning, design and development stages.
They argued that the 100-year flood model should be adopted to inform construction and development. The authors listed a number of points that could have factored into the recent inundation, and most inundation in general.
Even without an engineering background, I am hard-pressed to not agree with points three, four, and five. The authors speak to the trade-off between flood control and a simple drainage system, and suggest that at the cost of lowering the price of the already-expensive housing and other construction development, inadequate drainage is built and we cross our toes and fingers that we don't experience the inevitable.
This is unacceptable.
The authors spoke to the ability of the National Works Agency to remedy the situation and of it having the capability to design and prevent such inundation. I, however, am not convinced.
One only has to choose any thoroughfare in this country that is built to see the practice of one central drainage system (like the intersection of Hagley Park and Waltham Park roads) that is expected to adequately catch all the water coming from Half-Way Tree, or the drain that is on the curve on Victoria Street and Mountain View Avenue intersection, that is expected to collect all the waters rushing down Mountain View Avenue.
It is high time that we do what needs to be done for the greater good and do it very well, instead of the trade-off between maximum profit and praying the inevitable doesn't happen. The nation's growth and production suffers with this continued myopia.
Let us streamline drainage infrastructure to flow into each other and not await the displacement of water from a passing vehicle. Let's design below-surface drains along our corridors that lead to major drains. This will remove the volume of water from the streets, save the road surface, save businesses, and reduce conflicts between motorists and pedestrians.
KAPLETON HALL