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Jules Vasquez reporting
Make way on the roadways for the City's newest acquisition, locally this would be called a sludge truck, but its known industrial as a Vacuum Truck.

It's been acquired to clean out these drains built in the municipal drainage project. It's a fairly simple proposal - big hose sucks drains clean. That is at the most basic level.

But it is also a lot more complex and precise. This nozzle for example is inserted into the drain - And the hose can snake for hundreds of feet to emit a high pressure spray Which can still be heard and seen coursing through the drain two hundred feet away.

sort of a pressure washer for the sewer - After that the drain can be seen flowing freely in inky black swirls. But this drain was easy, it was only recently built.

What about this one on Douglas Jones Street? Yup, that's what it looks like under the grill. All that styrofoam and plastic and glass gone in a few seconds.

Phillip Willoughby - City Councillor
"You are one of the first to witness the potential and the capabilities of this truck are. We were about a 100 yards down and we felt the pressure down street."

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"You have so many residence inundaunted areas that whenever it rains it gets flooded. We think immediately about of Euphretes Avenue, King Street, Dean Street - but those are not within the scope of the municipal drainage. Will those be able to get some attention from this highly equipped truck?"

Phillip Willoughby - City Councilor
"Like I said this is the priority. To maintain and upkeep this infrastructure here, this investment. Thereafter, like I said we would organize and plan and coordinate the servicing of the entire wider Belize City area. So this truck whilst commitment is here it's not limited to only the flood mitigation infrastructure project it will serve the entire and wider Belize city."

And we put it to the test immediately on West Collet Canal where the drain probably had;t been cleaned for…like, 20 years.

It struggled initially due to the density of the buildup, but after a few minutes we saw the water coming through on the other side, it had cleared one of the most blocked drains in the city.

So the truck works, and with a price tag of almost four hundred thousand dollars, it should. But can they keep it working?

Jules Vasquez, 7News
"One immediately asks city council can maintain a truck like this? First, you can't maintain it and second you all will break this truck. That a cynical perspective but real at the same time."

Phillip Willoughby - City Councilor
"Well I may have mention to some of my colleagues and others, when we sit at the head table at the PSE level it's not business as usual like that Jules. I will be requesting probably biweekly reports on these equipment's. These trucks will not be touched in any way by our in house mechanics. If there is any problem, these will be sent over to Gentrac for them to come in and look any issue or potential problem."

The consultant will continue to train City Council staff over the next few days, and will come back in January. Gentrac won the contract to supply the truck and they provide the warranty.