Rivière Blanche is a river in Haiti in the Ouest department. Downstream, one arm is channeled towards the

Étang Saumâtre Étang Saumâtre (), (English: ''brackish pond'') is the largest lake in Haiti It is also known as Lake Azuéi (''Lac Azuéi''); its Taíno name was ''Yainagua''. Unlike its hypersaline neighbor, Étang Saumâtre is a brackish water lake. It lie ...

, another joined the

Canal Boucanbrou Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

and the Trou Caïman.

Geography

Rivière Blanche has its source around the Pic la Selle, which rises to 2,680 meters above sea level, overlooking the mountains of peak. This river forms several arms when it arrives in the

Plain of the Cul-de-Sac Plain of the Cul-de-Sac (, also known as the Cul-de-Sac Plain, or the Cul-de-Sac Depression) is a fertile lowland on the island of Hispaniola. It extends from southeastern Haiti into the southwestern Dominican Republic, where it is known as the '' ...

. In the past, the Rivière Blanche flowed into lakes whose arms are channeled either to the northeast of the Étang Saumâtre, or to the northwest of the Trou Caïman. The former name for this was called the ''Rivière du Boucan Brou'', however today, these arms are channeled under the name Boucanbrou or the Canal Boucambrou. During the rainy season, the Rivière Blanche becomes impetuous and overflows its banks, especially because the Canal Boucanbrou is not curetted and clear of the mud that reduces the flow of water. It floods partly in the Plaine of the Cul-de-Sac in the east of the agglomeration of

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

Canalization of the river

In 1954,

Hurricane Hazel Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second-costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before it struck the United States near the border between North and Sou ...

moved large sedimentary land in the valley of the Rivière Blanche, forming a sediment dam spanning 192 km² and diverting the course of the Rivière Blanche from its natural bed. Its waters found an outlet downstream in the flowing direction of the Étang Saumâtre. In January 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding between the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

and the National Association of Agricultural Producers was signed, to correct the alignment of the Rivière Blanche to re-groove its original channel over a length of 5.5 km long, and by harnessing to strengthen this part of the river course weak. A warning system in case of floods, was set up in the town of

Croix-des-Bouquets Croix-des-Bouquets (, ; or ) is a commune in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located to the northeast of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally located on the shore, it was relocated inland after the 1770 Port-au-Prince ea ...

, to prevent the risk of flooding.

References

Rivers of Haiti {{Haiti-river-stub