Turnbull warns gov’t over blocked ghuts and drains

Second District Representative Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull has warned that blocked ghuts and drains could worsen flooding across the territory if the government fails to clear them before another period of heavy rainfall.

Turnbull said National Democratic Party legislators had repeatedly questioned the government about its plans to clean the territory’s drainage systems.

“Honourable Penn and I and the other members of the National Democratic Party in the House Assembly, Myron Walwyn and Ronnie Skelton, we’ve been asking, when are we going to start cleaning up our ghuts and drains?” Turnbull said during a broadcast of the NDP Radio programme.

He said the territory had not received the level of rainfall normally experienced around this time and questioned whether the government intended to wait until conditions deteriorated before acting.

“What is the plan? So are we going to wait for heavy rains? The ghuts and the drains are blocked,” Turnbull stated.

Turnbull argued that delayed action could result in flooding and force the government into an emergency response.

“Then we have flooding in different areas, and now we have an emergency that they go crazy taking pictures and have different ‘machining’. What is the plan to help alleviate and show that you are leading this territory?” Turnbull asked.

The concerns follow repeated calls for regular maintenance of ghuts and drains in flood-prone areas.

In May 2024, then-BVI Chamber of Commerce Chairman Shaina Smith-Archer said frequent flooding was affecting businesses in Road Town and called for the maintenance of both drains and ghuts. She said vegetation could sometimes be seen growing from drains and warned that recurring flooding carried financial consequences for businesses.

Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer said that same month that indiscriminate dumping had worsened flooding after heavy rainfall affected several areas.

Turnbull said the drainage concerns were part of broader questions about the government’s planning and its response to challenges facing residents.