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Minister Denis Lowe Resignation MUST be on the Table -Flooding @Clarkes Road. St. James – GOD Bless BIM on Independence Day

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Flooding in Clarke's Road
Clarke’s Road

clarkes-road-pMinister of Drainage Denis Lowe needs to go. There has been no improvement in the task to alleviate flooding in Barbados since his appointment. In fact, it has gotten worse. Surely it is time for commonsense to prevail and for the Prime Minister to give the opportunity to another person to bring a fresh approach to the job? Unfortunately we know that he will continue to have the backing of Prime Minister Stuart because he is a loyal foot soldier AND there is an election to be won.

For those whose lifes and properties continue to be threatened by heavy rainfall – what are we to do? Yes, we should be able to celebrate Independence Day (whatever that means) and discuss the attendant issues of the day.

By the way, are the weather radars working?

God bless BIM on Independence day.

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284 responses to “Minister Denis Lowe Resignation MUST be on the Table -Flooding @Clarkes Road. St. James – GOD Bless BIM on Independence Day”

  1. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    Watchman
    More likely it was partially created to find work for Jolla Barrow and Lionel Weekes two big able DLP yardfowls from way back when.Jolla got the surprise of his life when he thought he had the top job at the airport in his hip pocket but was beaten by a woman and put out to pasture until Drainage and the Fatted Calf Brigade saved his sorry donkey.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Did we hear correctly that Guyana donated the fireworks?

  3. John Avatar
    John

  4. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @PAINFULTIMES November 30, 2016 at 8:09 AM “What has taken place on this island (and I saw some of it for myself โ€“ cars buried under water et al) with just a small amount of rain (what if we have hurricane rain?), potholes bubbling up even more sewage, restaurants like CinCin where water came down like the best-looking heavy waterfall that Barbados has, right through the kitchen windows, then gushing to the sea through the restaurant was unreal. There is more of course,, everyone has been affected, and we will soon hear what a mess we are in if the media is allowed because after all we have people from over and away here and then there is The Prince and God forbid he sees where we are at 50 years of Independence. Even the garrison was a sea, it is a wonder people were not fishing there.”

    We cannot stop heavy rainfall. And yesterday was not “a small amount of rain” yesterday was very, very heavy rainfall, about 6 inches in 6 hours. We have to be sensible enough not to build in natural water courses. If we build in a watercourse we have to expect to suffer the consequences. Some of those cars stuck in water were being driven by people who seem to love love taking risks. In the Bagatelle case “Winnie” a regular contributor to call-in shows has alerted motorists for decades that the area in front of her house floods in very heavy rainfall, and yet in today’s media it is reported that a motorist saw the water but did not realized how deep it was but attempted to drive through it anyway….hello…sensible people know that if you do not know how deep water is you DO NOT drive in. Turning back and taking a safer road (and it is easy to turn back in this area) would have taken the motorists 5 minutes…but in order to save 5 minutes 2 vehicles were damaged and lives were put at risk.

    Tell the people at Cin-Cin to have a large pipe placed under the floor to direct the water through the pipe instead of through the restaurant.

    We can’t beat mother nature. We can only work with her.

    That said it would be no great loss to the taxpayers of Barbados if Lowe was retired from his ministerial position.

  5. charles skeete Avatar
    charles skeete

    “Watchman November 30, 2016 at 8:28 PM #

    What is the need for a Ministry of the Environment and Drainage, when the prevention of floods Act Cap 235 lies with the Ministry of Transport and Works, was this Ministry created to keep Denis Lowe as a Minister , can this be call hurting many for the benefit of one, Walter Blackman,what your take on this.”

    If my memory is right at one time this Ministry had two Ministers at the same time until something could be found for Mr Kellman.

  6. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ John

    This post is about this moment mankind callous doing that may cause somebody demise one way or the other, any comment about a way to stop this from happening will help, please express a comment as to what you think can be done , I thank you john.

  7. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Bush Tea November 30, 2016 at 8:55 AM “One has to wonder what it must take for us to recognise the clear signs of being overtaken with evil. The building of that โ€˜monumentโ€™ with Satanโ€™s pitch fork…”

    It is NOT Satan’s pitchfork. It is the broken trident, based on the trident of Neptune the Greek god of the sea and you know that very well.

    Why do you continue to come here to mislead gullible people?

  8. John Avatar
    John

    Watchman

    One problem is that the knowledge older folk possessed is dying out.

    The extremes in weather make mitigating problems created by Mother Nature extremely difficult.

    I have tried to show that there are inherent dangers in Barbados which can cause death with no intervention from mankind.

    Younger folk may feel their training in engineering possesses them with skills which can be used to solve all manner of problems.

    Sometimes they are right.

    For an engineer to practice in Barbados he/she needs to be registered.

    An engineer’s responsibility is to the public’s safety.

    If engineering works are undertaken under the supervision of someone who is not a registered engineer the law is there to deal with the infraction.

    I do not know of the result of the inquiry but when for example the trench by BL&P caved in killing a man and injuring another there was an inquiry and the engineer on record was required to give evidence.

    So if by mankind you mean someone with no training or experience in engineering or a first class engineer then prosecute to the letter of the law, particularly if death, injury or loss is attributable to negligence.

    Engineers will carry liability insurance and will be covered if the responsibility can be shown to be theirs.

    The better the engineer the less likely a mistake will be made … but to err is human.

    Unqualified persons will not. They will be personally liable.

    But remember, there are events which are described as acts of God.

    I see access to St. Andrew is only by Farley Hill, not a good sign.

  9. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ Gabriel

    I know about Lionel Weekes and Jolly Barrow the two visited the watercourse, Barrow find out that one of his former workers from the airport, who is also a DLP yardfowl, lived at the end of the illegal botch road, so all of Weekes promises to Mr. Blackman were left by the watercourse, there again the suffering of many in Clarkes Rd, for one DLP yardfowl to benefit

  10. John Avatar
    John

    Arch Cot is an example I believe of callous disregard.

    There exists Town and Country Planning permissions from the 1960’s which clearly state, no development on top of the cave.

    Yet, somehow someone got permission to build in the 1970’s or early 1980’s.

    It is a known fact that the Chief Town Planner is often over ruled by the Minister responsible for Town Planning and that Minister is usually the Prime Minister.

    The Coroner’s Inquest indicated culpability.

    So if what I am suggesting is right, imagine what should happen!!!!

    People are dead.

    Some experts suggested it was an earthquake that caused the collapse, I watched a pretty simple demonstration at the inquest of why the cave collapsed and why development on top of it was prohibited.

    Yet, somebody gave permission!!

  11. John Avatar
    John

    The day the legal system works as it should will be a blessed day in Barbados.

    … but I am not holding my breath.

    My guess is nothing will be done about building the road in a water course.

    If you look around Barbados there are many examples of roads built in a watercourse/gully.

    I mentioned Howell’s Cross Road but there are roads through gullies at Farley Hill, Sailor’s Gully, Coffee Gully and the Whim to mention a few.

    However, persons who suffer loss as a result should seek redress and call those responsible to account, and that is an entirely different matter.

    … but then there was Carew.

    Everybody knows what happened but nobody did anything … so it goes on as before, we like it so!!

  12. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    So if there should be no building on top of caves, why are all those heavy buildings in the Warrens area, which I understand are built ON caves.

    If so, those are just cave ins waiting to happen with hundreds of people working in those buildings on any given day……..realy nice going.

  13. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Simple Simon
    Sorry bozie….excuse moi…
    You are an expert in symbolism, mythology and mysticism now too….?
    Look …please do not rush in where angels fear to go….

    Neptune is characterised carrying a trident.
    Shiva, a Hindu god carries a trident
    Satan is often portrayed as a villain carrying a trident
    …why the hell do WE need to highlight this symbol…. to prove exactly what?

    Now answer this…
    Even if we were naive enough to allow ourselves to be duped into accepting this symbol on our flag …. what the hell is this obsession with passing it around our schools, communities, a chain link of school children ….and now on a monument at the Garrison?

    You remain clueless of the galactic battle currently being waged by the forces of evil for the souls of man….. far less of the subtle manifestations of the inroads they have been making against righteousness.

    Not even those who are building and directing this atrocity understand what they are being used to accomplish…

    Barbados has gradually become a stronghold of evil (as we have documented here on BU) and we have now reached the stage (depth) where the big boss of evil is stamping his authority with a fitting monument….. after his subjects have all dutifully worshiped the symbol as it moved around the country.

    It is a prelude to hell…cause when the devil takes charge, even Heaven will become hades….

  14. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    @John, sometime in the 1950’s ,it was raining heavily, and a man from Sugar Hill, Joseph Holder,was down in St Andrew and decided to play it safe and waited until the rains stop before returning home via Springvale. As he was traveling up Springvale hill a deluge of water came down the eastern hills and wash him and his 1934 Ford Car into a ravine . He survived. The car was pulled out but he never put it back on the road again.
    There is also a story of a very large boulder coming loose from a cliff during heavy rains in the area in Fortress Hill, St Thomas and persons were killed.
    What ever became of the Alleyne School Teacher’s car which was lost in flood waters on that bridge between Belleplaine and the East Coast Road.

  15. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    Well Well & Consequences November 30, 2016 at 9:59 PM #
    Perhaps the same applies ,as the name implies, to the Grotto, luckily or foolishly ,it looks as if no lives will ever be put at risk here, except for a watchman.

  16. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ David

    Please allowed the watchman to used BU on the behalf of his friend Mr. Blackman to invite Walter Blackman to do some kind of risk management for the people of Clarkes Rd,St. James, I was just reluctantly inform, that of all the bloggers on Bu, Walter Blackman visited that watercourse and saw the risk it pose, and made promises, as to a way forward, since Walter know that many should not be hurt for one to benefit, we seek his help

  17. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    Colonel. ….these government ministers are playing with people’s lives as though their lives do not matter, but Karma will prevail.

  18. Simple Simon Avatar
    Simple Simon

    @Hants November 30, 2016 at 9:26 AM “They even built a hotel on a swamp in Holetown ( Discovery Bay ).

    Yes my father used to worry about that one. Always said that it should never have been build on that swamp.

    He was a grown man in the 1930’s and remembered the devastating floods of that era, especially the flooding between Heywoods and Holetown. He actively discouraged any of his children from living in that area. He said “leave that land for the rich people, they can afford to repair the flood damage.”

  19. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    and then there was what was known as the โ€œHorse Pondโ€ in Montrose which for many days rendered the adjoining road leading to Water Street impassable.
    ++++++++++
    Not sure this is the same pond but there was an area next to a road leading to Montrose that used to flood after heavy rains, the โ€œpondโ€ was next to the โ€œrock crusherโ€ which was just west of Gall Hill Housing area. As I remember the road and a field would also flood. I havenโ€™t passed that way for eons so I am unfamiliar with the area today.

  20. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ Bush Tea

    All right you are saying to yourself ‘watchman, asking Walter Blackman for help, after all the raging he give Walter on BU, say it, but remember Denis Lowe will be asking people to vote for him, after all the hurting he caused, to the NCC workers

  21. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    FAIL TO PREPARE and prepare to fail.

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/90956/drainage-hurt-cuts

  22. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    In all fairness, he, Dennis Lowe Low, cannot be blamed for the current problem though his administration is responsible for the great slash resources the drainage unit currently faces. Flooding ain’t no new thing in Barbados. If any of you doubt me ask the late Carew what was responsible for him ending up so far out to sea. Barbados has always had a problem with its drainage system. And, over the years the government elected has approached the matter with very little concern, all except when it floods, badly. So cuddear, Low Lowe can’t be blamed for everything.

  23. John Avatar
    John

    Well Well & Consequences November 30, 2016 at 9:59 PM #
    So if there should be no building on top of caves, why are all those heavy buildings in the Warrens area, which I understand are built ON caves.
    If so, those are just cave ins waiting to happen with hundreds of people working in those buildings on any given dayโ€ฆโ€ฆ..realy nice going.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    BS&T motors suffered a cave in when it was being constructed.

    Seem to remember there was a death but my memory is not what it used to be.

    The VAT building has millions spent on foundation works as a result of the caves under it.

    Remember Al Barak and the Chinese!!!!!

    Did he get all his money?

    People have short memories … and if you are like me, failing memories.

    There is a fortune spent on foundation works in Warrens.

    If you look at the photos of the Arch Cot cave in you will see just how thin the roof of that cave is … or rather was.

    Not all caves are created equal!!

    The word is Karst!!!

    Barbados has thousands of sinkholes from collapsed caves which pockmark the landscape.

    That’s why no Civil Engineer will put his mark on a house for example in the Apes Hill development without a Ground Penetrating Radar study being done!!

    That’s one of the perils of building in Barbados.

    The karst topography is tied up with water and its effect on limestone.

    Water does not only have the ability to move topsoil where it wants it also has the ability to dissolve limestone under the top soil.

    It has been doing its jobs for ever!!

    We just find it as it is.

    We build on top of caves every day just as we have roads in gullies all over Barbados.

    BTW, I am confusing Farley Hill with Nicholas Abbey … that avenue of Mahogany Trees tuns along a gully/watercourse to the Scotland District.

    Not that there are no roads in gullies near Farley Hill. Just before Mount Prospect coming from Farley Hill the road crosses a gully …. known as Missum Bottom … I think a corruption of the spelling of the surname Misson.

    Gullies and caves are features of Barbados that are found all over.

    Years ago people had lots of unused land from which to choose and chose for the most part wisely … like Ronald Tree and Sandy Lane Hotel!!

    Left the low lying flood prone areas alone and chose the high ground.

  24. ac Avatar
    ac

    Sunshine Sunny Shine December 1, 2016 at 3:35 AM #

    In all fairness.Flooding ainโ€™t no new thing in Barbados. If any of you doubt me ask the late Carew what was responsible for him ending up so far out to sea.

    I do not doubt You ! but please explain or tell in what manner or method can any one go about asking the late Carew” how he ended up so far out to sea”

    .

  25. ac Avatar
    ac

    Mottley voice is proving to be come less relevant as source of wisdom on social issues with her exuberant outburst of nonsensical political posturing
    In her usual mode of humorous attacks on govt one of her zingers were ‘Fail to prepare and prepare to Fail ” words which she should have and could have given to her govt in preserving the nations best interest for future generations

  26. Anne Avatar
    Anne

    These photos are scary I wonder what would have happened IF the rain fell for one week. It would be a disaster. I believe that the Ministry of Transport and the Drainage Division must be serious about drainage in this country. On the other hand we must realise that the land developers are part of the problem. Many of our natural water ways ponds etc. have filled in and sold as house spots.

    I grew up in Christ Church as a teenager my grandmother lived in Newton Tenantry (where the development is now) There was a very large pond. Near that area was a marl hole. That pond was filled in and the spot sold and a house is built on that pond bottom.This was such a large pond my grandmother told me women in the village washed their clothes there. I remember seeing men taking their cows and sheep to water at that pond. That pond was very deep. A teenager drowned in that same pond in the late sixties.

    Just a short distance from this area close to where the present golf course is, there was a pond called Sextant Pond. That too has become a house spot.

    In Plum Grove, there was a pond. As a child I remember when there was heavy rain you could hear the gushing of the water, it came ferociously through Plum Grove and down the main Lodge Road area.

    One other thing, there are many areas around homes which have too much concrete pavement and as we have notices a lot of our trees are being removed.

    The developers are not interested in things like this. Their concern is to make money. When disaster strike people will then realise that something needs to be done. What if this kind of rain fell for two weeks like it did in Haiti a few years ago. This is a wake up call for Government and I do hope that they will implement the measures that are needed. If the government does not seek to address this situation we are going to mourn. Loss of life will be huge.

  27. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @SSS

    The MTW/Drainage unit and The former DLP MP for St. James Central help in the development of this callous situation at Clarkes Rd, St. James

  28. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ Anne

    We thank you, great posting , keep reading this post for more insight into how this risk could have been avoided, later today

  29. Well Well & Consequences Avatar
    Well Well & Consequences

    “Left the low lying flood prone areas alone and chose the high ground.”

    Which is the intelligent think to do, but government is actually appล•oving building in these dangerous areas, so low income people are left with very little to no choices, all of this is a national disaster just waiting patiently to happen.

  30. David Avatar
    David

    @SSS

    All true and this is the reason the late Thompson established the ministry of drainage.

  31. John Avatar
    John

    Plumgrove Development is in a watercourse.

    When it rains, surface water drains from Newton, Bannatyne and Small Ridge, 100’s of acres, and crosses the ABC Highway via the watercourse by the entrance to the “Coke Factory” in the Newton Industrial park.

    Here is evidence of what is going on underground, a collapse of the pavement under the weight of a garbage truck.

    https://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/30-foot-deep-hole-opens-in-road-sanitation-service-authority-truck-breaks-through-why-didnt-nation-news-report-it-sooner/

    When I went to look at the hole in the pavement a houseowner told me that the houses are built on stilts in the 1970’s I believe!!

    It is like the Chefette building at Charles Rowe Bridge also built in a watercourse, 45 feet of soil needed to be removed before solid foundation could be found.

    That’s what happens in a watercourse, there is a build up of soil brought by the water and building foundations are a challenge.

    The water passing through Plumgrove is heading for the sea and contributes to the flooding issues from which no doubt, Water Street and Water Grove got their names!!

    The pond on the Durant’s side of Lodge Road will be in the route of water run off from Balls Plantation and the Newton Development area.

    That water flows to the sea and some ends up trapped in the sinkholes and forms ponds.

    A houseowner in the Newton Development area told me of caves found when founfations for his house were being dug.

    The 1951 map shows three or four ponds south of the big one in the Newton development.

    Gibbons Bogs gets its name from partly from this run off.

    … so it is not as if local knowledge died with old people …. for heaven’s sakes, the place names contain the wisdom of the ages!!

    Water runoff and sometimes flooding has been happening from the year dot!!

    Luckily, or unluckily if you are a St. Joseph resident, Barbados is a water scarce country.

    On one hand lack of water means no flooding ….. just means we need to take care when we get flood warnings and go by what we know of the areas in which we live.

    If you know it is going to flood out, leave before you suffer loss!!

  32. mitchlans Avatar
    mitchlans

    OK. The ‘celebrations’ are over. So when are we going to hear from the Prime Minister? Will he make a comforting statement to all those whose homes and businesses have been devastated, and promise that his government will do all they can to assist where necessary and prioritise repair of the collapsed roads (like a REAL Prime Minister), even if such promises are comfort to fools?

    Or will he make an incomprehensible and supercilious statement blaming everyone else, including God, and say we should have been focussing on the boring as hell, sorry, I meant to say uplifting and highly successful unveiling of the ‘thing’ at the Garrison rather than moaning about the sprinkles of blessing we had?

    And will we he promise to send out a search party for Minister Lowe, who has been literally MIA, or else too busy attending private functions to give a shite about what was happening outside to the people? And if they ever find him, no doubt it will be another case of,”Don’t blame me, it’s all YOU fuckers’ fault”.

  33. David Avatar
    David

    Freundel humour rocks!

    Image may contain: 1 person , text

  34. David Avatar
    David

    https://www.facebook.com/NationBarbados/videos/10153847956950989/

  35. Sunshine Sunny Shine Avatar
    Sunshine Sunny Shine

    Watchman

    The DLP cut resources, both financial and manpower. Essential services are suffering all over because of what this administration thought was prudent steps to fixing fiscal deficits and economic problems. We know that the politics of personal victimisation, scant respect and belittlement is seemingly a practice adopted by these jokers. That said, all the blame cannot be cast on which MP for which St. James central did what to Clarke’s Gap. He is no longer there and whatever is happening in Clarke’s Gap, now, falls under the new leadership of whoever. Time for the people to start taking more photos of the problems and get them into the court of public opinion.

  36. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    โ€œMinistry of Drainageโ€ solves nothing unless the Govโ€™t is prepared to change the building codes and make it mandatory for developers of new housing projects to have uniform codes for the elimination of storm water. We may not be able to correct the building mistakes of the past but we can try to avoid future problems. When an area of raw land is turned into a sub division the homes built on those sites effectively eliminate the soil under them from absorbing water, we have concrete construction with metal roofs and concrete driveways covering at least 80% of the lot which coupled with asphalt roads leaves little or nowhere for water to drain. The area around the homes are generally sloped to the road and the runoff ensures that roads become virtual streams which flow to the lowest point. This is a country in which the only attention paid to problems of flooding was by construction of wells in some areas which were prone to flooding (a few villages may still have some of these wells) and they were also located at the edge (hedgerow) of some cane fields. In a 21st century world we are continuing to construct concrete homes with a chattel home mindset, the rain may fall but we donโ€™t care about drainage so long as it doesnโ€™t affect our living conditions. Perhaps each builder should be mandated to place storm sewers leading to retention ponds or wells in each development as a condition to building homes in that sub division.

    I donโ€™t care which party has the reins of power no amount of bellyaching will turn things around unless we start to address the problem of new home construction.

    Some may have better or more workable solutions they are welcome to air them.

  37. David Avatar
    David

    @Sargeant

    Isn’t the minister of drainage a member of the executive responsible for informing national policy?

    If Minister Lowe -based on what we have been seeing with the extreme flooding in recent years – is it too much to expect he would not have flagged this at Cabinet level by submitting a paper for example?

  38. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Storm water sewers / drains and gutters can be built / created in existing developed areas.

    The question is how will broke Barbados pay for the sewers, dams and water retention ponds.

    Showers of blessings should not be allowed to run into the sea.

  39. David Avatar
    David

    clarkes-road-rocks-after

  40. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    David, Dec 1, 2016 at 10.13 AM show the road coming up and across the watercourse that is causing the flooding

    @SSS

    The former DLP St. James Central MP, George Hutson, knew that is an active watercourse he saw the well and knew the risk pose, but he got the CTO Frank Thornhill who refused to acknowledge Mr. Blackman pleas, “or some other officer at MTW” to task workers to pave the same path, Why? only George Hutson can say why he did what he done,

  41. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    George Hutson, former DLP MP, performed the last callous action that turned a naturally safe flowing watercourse, into a flood prone area, he was the first to drive a vehicle on the newly pave botch road, built in and across said watercourse,

  42. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ” task workers to pave the same path”

    The IDIOTS in Barbados still don’t understand that concrete and asphalt is not porous.

    Gullies / watercourses should not be paved.

    Unless people die nothing will be done.

  43. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    Hants
    Agree that there ought to be a way to hold back that water to join that already in the aquifers however as John posits,there will be problems associated with that given our topography.When I left my home to run an errand on Tuesday morning it was windy but dry.Within a 15 minute period I could hardly make out the highway.An hour later,I thought it a crazy thing to have gone on that errand and prayed I would return without joining the many vehicles I witnessed stuck in the mountain of water I encountered for about 8 miles of driving.Never again.

  44. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Gabriel,

    Barbados is a water scarce country. Therefore dams and ponds should be built to collect rain water.

  45. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Did any GOB ministers suffer losses from the flooding ?

  46. David Avatar
    David

    clarkes-road-rocks-afterclarke5

    clarkesrd-dry

    clarke4

  47. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    @ Hants

    As Anne said it about house spots, this watercourse lies between Mr. Blackman and a foreign land owner, who by rights must allowed a road around her plot to a plot at the back, the land marking before the start of construction clearly showed the road marks about 6-8 feet from the center line in the watercourse, the marks were removed at the start of construction and by the end, the land owner disregarded the original markings and placed the boulders on, over and 6plus feet high in the center of the watercourse thereby reducing the flow,

  48. Watchman Avatar
    Watchman

    David Dec 1 at 12.46 first Pic

    where the well is now, was a high ridge, the path of the original watercourse was more to the left that is why the water bypass the well on the left before spreading out on the road across the watercourse which is the same level as an open area on the right side of Mr. Blackman wall, so the water flowed down Clarkes Rd mostly due to the fact that the botch road in the watercourse has redirected and restricted the flow from its original path on the left

  49. John Avatar
    John

    I am looking at a 1951 contour map of the area around Clarke’s Road before there were any houses, or for that matter roads!!

    Hope I got the right area.

    There are two major water courses leading to the sea which is where you want to get the water as quickly as possible.

    One major watercourse/gully passes just to the south of what looks like Appleby Plantation house on its way to the sea.

    A second major watercourse/gully exits to the sea by what is now the Cliff Restaurant.

    Both major watercourses/gullies extend up through the First High Cliff at the 200 foot contour and drain the lands on top of the cliff.

    There is also shown a third water course which passes through the First High Cliff but does not extend to the sea.

    That also drains land on top of the cliff.

    The third watercourse/gully looks as though it could have dumped its water into the second major watercourse and it would have got to the sea in 1951 pronto.

    I am betting that is exactly how the land worked when it was in sugar.

    No planter is going to miss the significance of the link between the two as a means to prevent his land flooding but in any case, Nature would have provided the path.

    Looking at the current Google Earth map, it looks as though any connection between the second and third watercourses at the base of the First High Cliff is impeded by construction and the water then flows towards what is now Clarke’s Road and away from the second watercourse/gully.

    Now, if I can figure out how to put the screen capture with the three watercourses in a comment I will be able to show you how the drainage used to work, before any houses went there.

    It looks as though the water comes from as far as Redman Gully at the back of Redman Village which passes under Highway 2A behind Welches Plantation and through Prior Park and Husbands.

    If I am right, that means water from as far as Grandview, Bucks, and Vaucluse perhaps on the Second High Cliff makes its way through those three water courses cut into the Cliff by time.

    If you look in the field between Welches Roundabout and Prior Park you will see a natural valley through which the outflow from Redman Gully would flow.

    There must be some ponds in that field after Tuesday but I will have to take a look and see.

    I would definitely not build a house in that area!!!

  50. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    There is also a watercourse between Chapel road No. 2 (Paynes bay Fish market) and Holders Hill.

    I believe it may run to the south of Buccaneer Bay Hotel now named ( The House? )

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