NWA Technical Team Visits Flooded Areas in Yallahs

A technical team from the National Works Agency (NWA) on Monday (November 26) visited Yallahs, St. Thomas, to investigate the cause of the flooding on sections of the roadway in that parish.
Over the past six weeks water has been flowing from underground springs through the yards of houses on the northern side of the roadway, causing the roads and homes to be flooded. In some sections of the road in Pondside, water covered the sidewalk, forcing residents to walk through the water.
Communications Manager at the NWA Stephen Shaw told JIS News that he was aware of the difficulties being experienced in the community. However, he pointed out that there was “very little” that the NWA could do at this time except to ensure that all the drains in the area are kept clean.
“The difficulty is that water is coming from literally every yard on the northern side of the carriage way because of the springs that are overflowing beyond the roadway,” he said, pointing out that there were about three areas where the water was flowing heavily.
Mr. Shaw said that he was hoping that the cessation of the rainfall would allow the water on the road to recede.
“After that we may have to look at what we can do beyond those houses that are on the northern side of carriage way”, he added.
He said that the problem was not new to the community and many of the houses on the southern side of the carriage-way have built up their entrances to prevent water from entering their yards.
“I was told there was an occurrence at least once in recent times, so clearly there is something happening up there. I think the underground aquifers are full and the water is coming up, flowing towards those two big ponds that are on the southern side of the carriage way.
Kevonne Williams, a resident of Poorman’s Corner in Yallahs told JIS News that the flooding has been occurring every year, noting that the recent persistent rainfall may have caused a greater flow of water from the hills. He said that the stagnant water on the road has now caused the breeding of mosquitoes and sidewalks to be slippery.