Ministry: “A Collective Effort Should Be Made”
“An engineer will be in touch with the local businesses about the flooding but the private sector must take ownership of this issue as Mills Creek Road is a private road,” a Public Works Ministry spokesperson said in response to complaints over the Pembroke Canal infrastructure which sometimes results in flooding.
Earlier today a group consisting of the 20 businesses and one residence located on Mill Creek Road released a statement about the “blatant lack of action on the Pembroke Canal infrastructure, which continues to go into disrepair and cause serious, sometimes life threatening, flooding on Mill Creek Road.”
“The Mill Creek Road businesses have been meeting with Government since 2002. Most recently, they met with the Minister of Works & Engineering in July. He had promised a response within two weeks of the meeting with options and pricing,” the group said.
“Another letter was sent to the Minister in mid- September restating the group’s desire for communication on the matter and to this day no response has been received.”
They added that “as a result of the severe flooding that occurs every time it rains, the businesses and residence have been impacted as follows:
- Approximately 500 employees of the Mill Creek businesses cannot arrive or leave work due to flooding that can sometimes be three feet deep
- Cars of the employees and resident require significantly more maintenance due to the engine damage from the flooding
- Each business is losing between $13,000 and $40,000 per day on flooding days
- The disabled resident is confined to his home and cannot leave the area”
In response, a Ministry spokesperson said: “Three years ago a sluice gate was installed which seemed to alleviate the problem of flooding somewhat in the Mills Creek area.
“The gate means that when the tide rises, the gate closes off so that water does not move inland. However, when the tide goes out, the water forces the gate open so that it can be released from the massive basin, which extends all the way out to Frog Lane. All this water has to travel down to a very small canal, which can cause a real problem in terms of flooding.
“The Mills Creek industrial area is built on low-lying land which makes flooding extremely problematic, especially when high tide is combined with excessive rain, as water flows over the sluice gate.
“Unfortunately we just don’t have the money to make the kinds of infrastructure changes required to keep flooding at bay.
“An engineer will be in touch with the local businesses about the flooding but the private sector must take ownership of this issue as Mills Creek Road is a private road.
“Teams will be going to investigate the sluice gate to see if we can provide support in any way but a collective effort should be made on behalf of the businesses in that immediate area. We are assisting and cooperating where we can.
“A long-term infrastructure plan will be created to alleviate that water flow.”
It only took 5 months and press coverage to get a response… Gummint at its best.
“Each Business is losing between $13,000-$40,000 per day,” seems like the private sector is not doing as bad as it is portrayed.
“the private sector must take ownership of this issue as Mills Creek Road is a private road …..” but: 1. who gave planning permission for all the buldings? 2. Who collects taxes from the businesses here? 3. Who spent $1m putting in place a solution that did/has not worked?
4. Why did the Ministry build a superhighway on Dutton Ave and a sidewalk to nowhere on North Shore if there is no money? 5. Why can’t the trash collectors clear the overgrowth when the trucks are down as this wouldn’t cost any extra? 6. How can there be collaboration when the Ministry ignores all timelines and refuses to communicate for 5 months?
Please note what has been said…and since when.
“An engineer will be in touch with the local businesses about the flooding but the private sector must take ownership of this issue as Mills Creek Road is a private road.”
“The Mill Creek Road businesses have been meeting with Government since 2002. Most recently, they met with the Minister of Works & Engineering in July. He had promised a response within two weeks of the meeting with options and pricing,” the group said.”
“The Mills Creek industrial area is built on low-lying land which makes flooding extremely problematic, especially when high tide is combined with excessive rain, as water flows over the sluice gate.
“Unfortunately we just don’t have the money to make the kinds of infrastructure changes required to keep flooding at bay. An engineer will be in touch with the local businesses about the flooding but the private sector must take ownership of this issue as Mills Creek Road is a private road.”
Need one say more?
poor RAYMOND please you blind follower….. . take a break
Ok so money is the sole problem here is it..? I think it’s a lack of knowledge as to a sure fix…recruit an engineer from the Netherlands…who knows more about water management than the Dutch..??
EASY fix….how much will you guys pay me to tell you how?
3rd world
As I child, we sang a song and I’ve always remembered it: THE WISE OLD MAN BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCK AND THE FOOLISH OLD MAN BUILD HIS HOUSE UPON THE SAND.
Those who built on this area or who are renting in this area….they knew there was an issue. So either open your cash register and help the Government to fix this problem or continue to deal with it or move away. I tend to believe that flood insurance is non-existant in this area, so loss of revenue would be not covered either. However, again, I say……..LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.
The businesses have tried to raise the road, but engineers said the canal boundaries need to be reinforced first. Government must lead on this!
Exceptionally high tides are major contributors to the flooding.. If the water level in Mill Creek is equal to that of the canal, there will be no seaward water flow – hence flooding…be prepared for the week of 23rd Nov. through 28th Nov. with an exceptionally very high tide on Thursday 26th. If we get rain during this period it will be worse..be prepared..
Storm water is also arriving at the sluice gate faster than ever before as more and more structures that increase runoff have been given planning permission. This coupled with the long and higher high tides means that Government must maintain the canal as per the Act. Only 1 of the 11 points identified in 2004 have been actioned and given the increased urbanisation since then probably even more is needed.
It is my humble and unsubstatiated understanding that this whole area was…poorly addressed at onset…surveys…and concurrent surveys from onset of initial building permissions were …and “have not”…addressed height of foundation from sea level or height of full moon at equinux…and niep tide…allowing building without concern to weight or lack of pilon re enforced footing to sea level…was this incompitence…or corruption?
Rational suggests the way forward requires an engineer…a real one…from a place known for excellence in this endeavor
…Holland.
too much tea it has overflowed and flooded the area
500 employees SMH no wonder there is an issue no one knows how to count
Ok… One question… Why should I as a tax payer pay for fixing a private road because someone built buildings where everyone knew it would flood? Fools… Let the building owners pay to fix their road!!
And if there are (as a guess) 10 business loosing 13k a day at say 5 days a year…= 650k in lost revenue a year … So those companies have lost (so they say) since 2002 in excess of 8 million dollars… So how can the businesses justify NOT fixing the drainage themselves years ago?
1. The drainage that needs fixing starts at Prospect so it is clearly more than just a little private road’s problem.
2. The businesses have tried to raise the road themselves, however the engineers told them that the canal walls need to raised and reinforced by Government first or it is not possible.
It may be a private road but it’s the public canal that’s flooding.
Well let’s think here a minute, how many Bermudians do you think those companies hire? Why should I pay my taxes to watch people build a wall in paget that took years? Why should I pay to watch 8 men clean up a round a bout to plant, that technically should take one.Why should I pay for civil servants to get more holiday and sick pay than a private working person would get in a lifetime. The road is used by many every day, personally I don’t think there is a solutions because of the tides, but having one more look is to everyone’s benefit not just the businesses.
same reason we giving those rich boys ( America’s Cup ) a party in 2017 at 76million
Why don’t Oba simply lower the sea level?
The road floods in two areas. (1) Between BGA and the entrance to ESC. (2) At the mouth of the canal. Solution a bridge over troubled waters. The water will always need somewhere to go. A bailey bridge type structure which would allow the waters to still rise but travel under the road. The bridge only needs to be raised on the creek side therefore it’ll be ramped toward the south side of the road. The two A/C companies will have to become neighborly and rearrange the fencing on the south side of the road to allow changes to their entrances. This would be the most economical solution to this age old problem. Although, having looked at the pdf report in would say the $4.31m isn’t a whole lot of money between 20 companies and the government. If the businesses have lost the type of money they say they have and the government continually gives away money to various institutions through tax breaks etc. Why not in good faith doesn’t all parties work together for a solution? The answer can be found in Jeremiah 10:23.
all the ponds flow into and out of mills creek and the flow has been blocked, and ponds filled in by construction, the big government three story parking lot in back of masters and the new government w+e building in back of that,and were the car wash is has all been filled in and the flow of the water blocked ,,so that whole area the pond has been blocked ,so that would be totally the governments fault, or should be ….all that water is suppose to run freely under the places flooded in the pics above
Unfortunately, this is a huge problem, because the water actually comes from the ocean. This is mainly salt water. The canal opens up into the ocean at Mills Creek. So I guess you would have to block the very beginning of the canal on the west side where the small bridge is that leads to Tops ltd.
Very interesting perspective from the residents and businesseses on this Mills creek road or Canal Road as it was called when my family was resident there bordering that road during 1953-1959 when I had to negoiate that Road to and from school at West Pembroke and then to Berkeley Institute .! Prior to 1959 when the Theatre Boycott broke down the Institutionadlised Racism ,in Bermuda .I recall only one business being on that road,Rio Sir Hugh Richardson’s Garage where the P.L.P.was formed in 1963.It flooded quite heavily all the time then.I remember that well.A joint Effort is required to fix the problem which I might add ,is resovable.
BAC and Air Care (two businesses along Mill Creek Road) have expertise in big pumps for air conditioning and fire systems. Why can’t they apply that to creating a pumping station at the end of Mill Creek Road and work out the cost with other businesses and Govt? When its raining and the tide is high, simply pump the water building up behind the sluice gate into Mill Creek. If a lot of rain is expected, start pumping the existing water before more is added to it. Test the theory: have the Fire Dept. go with a number of mobile pumps (and any available from the private sector) the next time flooding looks likely.
Shouldn’t be a problem, enough solutions n the above blogs…