MONTEGO BAY, St James — The agency executing the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project has rejected often-made suggestions that the ongoing work is to be blamed for flooding now plaguing the Hurricane Melissa-battered communities of West Green and Catherine Hall in St James. The National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC) has also promised a long-term fix for the issue, while the local authorities work on short-term solutions.

“The flooding in Catherine Hall and West Green is not related to the project,” NROCC Managing Director Stephen Edwards told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday morning.

“West Green and Catherine Hall have a history of flooding; the drains are inadequate,” he added.

His comments came a few hours after residents staged a protest to call attention to the water logged area. It was brief but caused significant disruption to traffic which was already moving at a snail’s pace.

There was flooding in some parts of Catherine Hall Sunday after heavy rains lashed Montego Bay.

The area has had periods of heavy rain since last week, resulting in flooding that brought back memories of last October’s Category 5 storm and fresh agony for some homeowners who have had to place furniture on blocks to keep them dry. Some residents insist that the ongoing roadwork has clogged drains which were never fully cleared after Melissa.

However while NROCC’s Edwards agrees the drains are clogged, he maintains the debris in them is unrelated to the perimeter road project and solely to debris from the storm. He pointed out that the drains being installed along the roadway, as part of the project, have been operating well so far.

“They are wide enough where a bobcat can drive through and so it can manage the water levels,” Edwards explained.

Although the two flood-prone communities do not fall directly under NROCC’s remit, he said the agency has a plan for the area.

Water pooled in a section of Catherine Hall, Tuesday, after days of heavy rain in Montego Bay.

“We are mobilised in the area, for the Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project, and we have engineers in the space; we have a contractor in the space and we’re going to take a look at it… as part of the comprehensive drainage study that we’re doing,” he promised.

The hydrological and drainage study, Edwards said, is expected to cover the wider parish in an effort to mitigate flooding challenges. However, he noted that the process would take time and requires proper preparation to ensure communities receive the best support possible.

“We’re going to do something that is going to alleviate the problem not only in the short term but the long term as well, but it needs a proper plan,” Edwards insisted.

“[Residents] are traumatised and they have been going through it; even from before Melissa that place would flood,” he added, noting that project contractors have been helping to clean drains in the two communities.

Residents wade through flood waters in a section of Catherine Hall after heavy rains on Sunday.

Councillor Dwight Crawford (Jamaica Labour Party, Spring Garden Division) has also been doing his part by leading a team from the St James Municipal Corporation.

“I was there on Sunday, I was in about eight inches of water but we managed to alleviate the challenges. We are employing all kinds of different avenues so we managed to alleviate the challenges in that area,” he told the Observer Tuesday.

According to Crawford, the team made significant headway in removing silt build-up from sections of the drains in Catherine Hall, allowing water that had accumulated after recent rains to run off.

However, he stressed that the flooding is not widespread.

“I know naturally when persons hear Catherine Hall and they hear floods, they think that the whole place is under water; the whole place is not under water. There are some areas where the drains are giving us some challenges. There are about three areas, two of which I think we have managed to remedy,” Crawford said.

“I know [residents] are traumatised but I wanted to show them that we are here with them, working for them to ensure that the challenges are alleviated,” he assured.