Hope Canal

Last updated

The East Demerara Water Conservancy-Northern Relief Channel, better known locally as the Hope Canal, is one of Guyana's largest drainage projects. Construction was from 2011 to November 9, 2013 at a cost of around GYD$3.6 billion. [1]

Contents

Hope Canal was designed in response to the 2005 flooding, when a breach in the embankment resulted in floods to almost the entire East Coast of Demerara causing significant damage to agricultural and residential areas. It serves as a medium to release excess water from the EDWC directly to the Atlantic Ocean via an 8 door sluice, [1] during periods of extended rainfall in order to prevent overtopping of conservancy embankment.

The project was criticized for costing well over estimates and two years of delays. [2]

Structures

There are four major components of the Hope Canal Project:

Canal

The channel has a length of 10.3 km [3] and entirely straight with a bed width of 30m and a top width of 40m. The embankments are at least 8m higher than the surrounding land areas and the width across the top of the embankments is 5m. Approximately 660,520 cubic metres of soil was excavated, then used for the construction of the channel embankments and supplemented with geotextile fabric for added strength.[ citation needed ]

The Hope Channel has a carrying capacity of 58 cubic metres per second and serves to drain the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) of excess water. The Conservancy is connect to the Channel through the three door head regulator and the water drains at the northern end of the channel through the eight door High Level Outfall Sluice. [4] [5]

Head regulator

The head regulator is an intake structure located at the Southern end of the canal. It consist of a sluice with three green heart timber doors. This sluice allows excess water to flow from the EDWC into the Hope Canal. It is manually operated, and water levels in the canal can be monitored by lowering or rising sluice doors. Water levels in the canal are determined by graduated gauges (Unit being Ft GD) placed at specific locations in both the Hope Canal and the EDWC.

This structure is 17m across, with the three doors measuring 5.5m each. There is also a bridge spanning the channel at the structure; this bridge is 5m wide and 18m long. The wing walls of the structure are reinforced with geotextile fabric and the channel bed is protected both at the inlet and outlet sides of the structure by gabion mattresses, extending several metres outwards.

High level sluice

The largest sluice in Guyana, this structure is located at the northern end of the Hope Canal, conveying excess water to the Atlantic Ocean. It consist of a drainage sluice with eight doors. [6] The overall width of the structure is 89.5m with the eight doors at each 4.875m in width. At the base of the gates there is a high level weir at 16.0mGD level in contrast to the 14.0mGD invert channel depth. This feature, along with the enormous size, discharge capacity, advanced motorized winches and control systems make this structure different from the common sluices.

Public road bridge

At the point where the channel passes through the East Coast Public Road, a reinforced concrete bridge was constructed to close the gap. In an effort to maintain the integrity of the dam throughout the entire length of the channel, the bridge was constructed in such a manner as to go up and over the embankments. The bridge consist of two 47m sloped approach on both sides, along with the length of the deck being 74.4m. The bridge is designed to accommodate two lanes of traffic as well as protected sidewalks on both sides for pedestrians.

The bridge continued to be under weekly repair even as of 2016, suffering due to "shoddy work". [7]

Other uses

In 2018, a feasibility study was done to determine if surface water contained in the Hope Canal is suitable for use as drinking water. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown, Guyana</span> Capital of Guyana

Georgetown is the capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is the retail, administrative, and financial services centre of the country, and the city accounts for a large portion of Guyana's GDP. The city recorded a population of 118,363 in the 2012 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Bedford River</span> Watercourse in Cambridgeshire, England

The New Bedford River, also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a navigable man-made cut-off or by-pass channel of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire, England. It provides an almost straight channel between Earith and Denver Sluices. It is tidal, with reverse tidal flow being clearly visible at Welney, some 19 miles (31 km) from the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Rother, East Sussex</span> River in East Sussex and Kent, England

The River Rother flows for 35 miles (56 km) through the English counties of East Sussex and Kent. Its source is near Rotherfield in East Sussex, and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel. Prior to 1287, its mouth was further to the east at New Romney, but it changed its course after a great storm blocked its exit to the sea. It was known as the Limen until the sixteenth century. For the final 14 miles (23 km), the river bed is below the high tide level, and Scots Float sluice is used to control levels. It prevents salt water entering the river system at high tides, and retains water in the river during the summer months to ensure the health of the surrounding marsh habitat. Below the sluice, the river is tidal for 3.7 miles (6.0 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sluice</span> Water channel controlled at its head by a gate

A sluice is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. It can also be an open channel which processes material, such as a river sluice used in gold prospecting or fossicking. A mill race, leet, flume, penstock or lade is a sluice channeling water toward a water mill. The terms sluice, sluice gate, knife gate, and slide gate are used interchangeably in the water and wastewater control industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bow Back Rivers</span> Waterways in east London

Bow Back Rivers or Stratford Back Rivers is a complex of waterways between Bow and Stratford in east London, England, which connect the River Lea to the River Thames. Starting in the twelfth century, works were carried out to drain Stratford Marshes and several of the waterways were constructed to power watermills. Bow Creek provided the final outfall to the Thames, and the other channels were called Abbey Creek, Channelsea River, City Mill River, Prescott Channel, Pudding Mill River, Saint Thomas Creek, Three Mills Back River, Three Mills Wall River and Waterworks River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond Lock and Footbridge</span> Lock and pedestrian bridges in London, England

Richmond Lock and Footbridge is a lock, rising and falling low-tide barrage integrating controlled sluices and pair of pedestrian bridges on the River Thames in southwest London, England, and is a Grade II* listed structure. It is the furthest downstream of the forty-five Thames locks and the only one owned and operated by the Port of London Authority. It was opened in 1894 and is north-west of the centre of Richmond in a semi-urban part of southwest London. Downstream are Syon Park and Kew Gardens on opposite banks. It connects the promenade at Richmond with the neighbouring district of St. Margarets on the west bank during the day and is closed at night to pedestrians – after 19:30 GMT or after 21:30 when BST is in use. At high tide the sluice gates are raised and partly hidden behind metal arches forming twin footbridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berbice River</span> River in eastern Guyana

The Berbice River, located in eastern Guyana, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for 595 kilometres (370 mi) through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between 160 and 320 km (99–199 mi) from the sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demerara River</span> River in Guyana

The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated on the east bank of the river's mouth. The river divides Essequibo Islands-West Demerara on the west bank from Demerara-Mahaica to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geotextile</span> Textile material used in ground stabilization and construction

Geotextiles are versatile permeable fabrics that, when used in conjunction with soil, can effectively perform multiple functions, including separation, filtration, reinforcement, protection, and drainage. Typically crafted from polypropylene or polyester, geotextile fabrics are available in two primary forms: woven, which resembles traditional mail bag sacking, and nonwoven, which resembles felt.

The Torani Canal in northeastern Guyana serves to move water from the Berbice River into the Canje River. It was to serve as irrigation for the sugar industry, and subsequently the rice industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demerara Harbour Bridge</span> Bridge in Guyana

The Demerara Harbour Bridge is a 6,074-foot (1,851 m) long floating toll bridge. It was commissioned on 2 July 1978. The bridge crosses the Demerara River 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the Guyanese capital Georgetown, from Peter's Hall, Demerara-Mahaica, East Bank Demerara to Schoon Ord, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, West Bank Demerara. There is a pedestrian footwalk. A raised section lets small vessels pass under. A retractor span lets large vessels pass.

The Mahaica River is a small river in northern Guyana that drains into the Atlantic Ocean. The village of Mahaica is found at its mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Sedgemoor Drain</span> Artificial drainage channel in Somerset, England

King's Sedgemoor Drain is an artificial drainage channel which diverts the River Cary in Somerset, England along the southern flank of the Polden Hills, to discharge into the River Parrett at Dunball near Bridgwater. As the name suggests, the channel is used to help drain the peat moors of King's Sedgemoor. There was opposition to drainage schemes from the local inhabitants, who feared that they would lose their common grazing rights. However, the main channel was constructed between 1791 and 1795, and despite some defects, brought some relief from flooding to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haringvlietdam</span> Bridge in Voorne-Putten, Goeree-Overflakkee

The Haringvlietdam, incorporating the Haringvliet sluices, are hydraulic engineering structures which closed off the estuary of the Haringvliet, Netherlands, as part of the Delta Works. The structure consists of 17 sluices, several kilometres of dam and a shipping lock, and formed the sixth project of the Delta Works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fens Waterways Link</span> Waterways project in eastern England

The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is planned. The project is being organised by the Environment Agency and financed from the Regional Development Agency and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Mills Wall River Weir</span> Weir on the Bow Back Rivers in London, England

Three Mills Wall River Weir is a weir on the Bow Back Rivers, in Mill Meads in the London Borough of Newham, England, near to Three Mills. It was built in 2009, when the Bow Back Rivers were refurbished to make them a key feature of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and maintains water levels through much of the park in conjunction with the Three Mills Lock and sluice on the Prescott Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troyville Earthworks</span> Woodland period Native American archaeological site in Jonesville, Louisiana, United States

Troyville Earthworks is a Woodland period Native American archaeological site with components dating from 100 BCE to 700 CE during the Baytown to the Troyville-Coles Creek periods. It once had the tallest mound in Louisiana at 82 feet (25 m) in height. It is located in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana in the town of Jonesville. The site is the type site for the Troyville culture of the lower Ouachita and Tensas River valleys. Before it was destroyed for bridge approach fill in 1931, the main mound at Troyville was one of the tallest in North America.

The East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) is one of Guyana's major water storage and flood control facilities. Over 500,000 residents inhabit the basin that lies below and between the sea wall and the EDWC Dam in a 48 km band from Georgetown to Mahaica. Located in Demerara-Mahaica, the EDWC serves to irrigate thousands of hectares of rice and other crops within this area by storing rain water for dry periods and it also provides one of the primary source of drinking water for the capital city of Georgetown.

The 2005 Georgetown flood was a major flood in and around Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. It started during heavy rains in 2004, and came to a head in January, when sustained heavy rains and high tides over-topped the deteriorating water conservancy. Approximately 290,000 people were affected and the economic impact was estimated to be about US$465 million, or 59% of Guyana's GDP.

Meenkara Dam is an embankment or earthen dam built on the banks of the river Gayatripuzha, a tributary of the river Bharathapuzha, at Muthalamada in the Muthalamada Grama Panchayat near Kollengode in the Palakkad district of Kerala with masonry spillway sections. It is part of the Gayatri Irrigation Project. The project was started in 1956 and partially commissioned in 1960. The project was fully completed in 1964. The irrigation scheme has been prepared for agriculture and drinking water in Palakkad district. Farms in Chittoor, Nemmara, Alathur in Palakkad district and Vadakkancherry in Thrissur district will benefit from this irrigation scheme.

References

  1. 1 2 GTIMES (2016-06-26). "Residents say Hope Canal is a blessing". Guyana Times. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  2. Chabrol, Denis (2016-06-12). "Hope Canal cost more than publicly stated". Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  3. "Guyana: Tenders for Hope canal structures to be advertised soon - Guyana". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. Pooran Ballchan- Engineering Student, University of Guyana
  5. NDIA Brochure "EDWC Northern Reilef Channel & Associated Works"
  6. INEWS (2014-08-29). "GNIC completes construction of Hope Canal sluice doors". INews Guyana. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  7. "Hope Canal project still incomplete". News Room Guyana. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  8. "Hope Canal study on the cards". Guyana Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-02-01.

6°43′58″N57°57′24″W / 6.7328°N 57.9567°W / 6.7328; -57.9567