Reports started trickling in to us that flooding had sealed off our reservoir, so last week Raymond called his worker Kervens and asked him to go investigate. Kervens worked with us every day we were on the project in 2011, and knows exactly what we are trying to accomplish. He made the trip last week and this is what he reports. This report will make the most sense to those who have seen the site.
The river has flooded and washed enough slit down to entirely fill the reservoir, and mostly seal it off. A small amount of water is still trickling out the bypass pipes. (This is what we expected to happen, but we thought it would take days, not months). The entire flow of the river, which was only the spring water flow on the day he was there, enters the canal, and is flowing down at a fairly consistent 7" depth the length of its path. Some of it exits the canal out the hole at the location where the first set of gates will go, but most of it continues on. We had dammed the canal near the containers, but that has washed out, so the water continues all the way to the end. The sump is standing full of water, but it does not appear to be running into the pipes. We placed a steel grating over the entrance to the sump, but Raymond had not asked about that, so we don't know if the grating is intact or not. If it is, it seems unlikely to us that the pipe could have plugged, but right now we have no other explanation of why there would not be flow into the pipes.
A 120' section of the canal wall just upstream of the sump on the river side has fallen or is damaged. The water is mostly exiting the canal there and spilling over the cliff back into the canyon. Our water control plan calls for the gates to be closed during high water events, so the downstream walls would be protected. We built in a spillway, but that was intended to handle small amounts that would pass the gates under regular operations, and not mass flooding flows. If the dam washed away early in the flooding event(s), it is likely that a full force of water has weakened and eventually washed out part of the wall. I any event, it will need to be rebuilt and possibly re-designed.
This is mostly good news - the reservoir has filled, and the water is spilling into the canal. But nothing in Haiti is ever quite that simple, and almost every event has some pain attached. The same heavy rains that blessed us have caused havoc and ruin in other parts of the area. Roads have washed out in the Fond Verrette area, and the entire road into our canyon is GONE. Historically, machines could travel into the canyon to the first village called Le Washe that hosts the local market three days a week. From there a road of sorts existed some of the time as far as the Lastic school, and from there a footpath went on the Lastic village, and on to the area of our work. We improved the road to Le Washe, and built a workable road the rest of the way to the work site, mostly in the bottom of the canyon. The reports are that the road is so badly damaged that not even motorcycles can make it to the market in La Washe. I have not heard what that has done to the canyon economy, but the loss of the market will be a severe blow. All of the agricultural produce and charcoal produced back in the canyon is carried by mule or head to the market, where it has historically been hauled away on small trucks. Necessary household items and food stuffs are brought back from market in the age old traditional ways. Raymond reports that a dozer and other heavy equipment will be needed just to gain access back into the canyon with materials, trucks, and people.
The flooding of this and other rivers has significantly raised the level of Lake Azuei, the lake beside our house. It has been creeping up since 2006, and this spring was about 13' above historical levels. This has already wrecked havoc in the local area, covering fields, houses, and most notably, the main road to the DR. The lake level has shot up dramatically in the last month or so, rising about an additional 4', and has caused the evacuation of low lying villages on the NW corner of the lake. It has also effectively shut the road to the DR, which carries the lion's share of the goods imported into the country. The water is reported to be about 2.5' deep on about 5 miles of winding road, so clearly only the brave in big machines will tackle it. Clearly this lake level problem needs to addressed, and the sooner the better, but that is another project.
Many have asked me about the schedule for the future, and offered their services . I appreciate the willingness to go back for another round. At this time we really have no idea when it might work to go back. With weather considerations (hurricane season, rainy seasons, etc), the workload that various of us have lotvo, my need to make a living long enough to pay my own bills, etc. it will take some careful planning to find a window that works for all. With the road washing out, the damage to the canal reported above, setting up camp and getting equipment in place, the project has ballooned to probably a month or more. We have also been requested by the water committee in Fond Parisian to do some repairs and changes on the downstream end. There is also a capped spring that used to bring water to La Blanket, the 1st little village out of FP as you head toward the jobsite. Three hours stiff hike back into the mountains the pipe has broken, and needs some small repairs. Nearer to civilization a gravel company mining gravel near the river dug through the pipeline and removed about 300' as the excavated gravel. We have also been asked to get that back into working order as well. As you know, the needs never end. It is for us to carefully consider what relief we can offer.
written by GNIF
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