7 News Belize

New Drainage Solution For City
posted (February 16, 2016)
The municipal drainage project is a 21 million dollar IDB funded project focusing on the drains on the northside of Belize City. It started in late 2011, and should finish by the end of next month. Major work has been done to strengthen or create at least 4 canals, and to build large drains and sidewalks in the Belama Area. The longest canal was built under Cinderella Plaza. It connects to the existing canal on Douglas Jones Street - but stretches it all the way to the sea by Princess, going through Calle Al Mar. IT's a canal that's five foot wide by five feet deep and runs for 540 meters. Today the Ministry of works engineers along with personnel from the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, and The Department of the Environment toured the drainage project, and we tagged along. Here's the story of what they did at Cinderella Plaza:..

Rolando Chan, Project Manager, Flood Mitigation
"We had an existing stretch which was from Freetown towards the creek and then the new section was from Freetown towards the sea, going through Baymen Avenue, Kelly Street Calle al Mar, across Barack Road and then towards the sea. From Freetown towards Calle al Mar towards the sea. That is the new infrastructure that we place in which is a 5x5 section and that was done by Median Construction."

Jules Vasquez
"How will that work when there is a spring tide, a very high tide."

Rolando Chan, Project Manager, Flood Mitigation
"When the high tide comes, the water from the sea comes towards the canal into the canal and flows towards Haulover Creek."

Jules Vasquez
"Through Douglas Jones Street?"

Rolando Chan, Project Manager, Flood Mitigation
"Yes, it's very minimum. So when we have flooding, the same thing happens with Haulover creek; waters flows towards the sea."

Jules Vasquez
"So it works both ways?"

Rolando Chan, Project Manager, Flood Mitigation
"Yes it works both ways. So if the water use to stay here for at least let's say 8 hours, now it's reduced to at least hour and a half to two hours. We know that Belize City is in a low laying area. Most of Belize City is basically at sea level. Some areas is below sea level, but that's why we are trying to do infrastructure - try to assist these residence so that they don't have flooding in such a way. We are trying to avoid that."

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