The Torani Canal in northeastern
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
serves to move water from the
Berbice River
The Berbice River , located in eastern Guyana, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between from the ...
into the
Canje River. It was to serve as irrigation for the sugar industry,
and subsequently the rice industry.
The canal is 14 miles long.
The Berbice River inlet is located some 80 km from the sea where, although subject to tidal influence, flow is fresh throughout the year. A five-door
sluice
A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...
controls the flow of water into the canal.
The outlet on the Canje River is near the community of
Wel te Vreeden. A three-door sluice controls flow out of the canal.
It was rehabilitated by BK International Inc. under the supervision of the Caribbean Engineering Management Consultancy Guyana Limited in collaboration with Mott Mac Donald. The dual purpose of the canal is to transfer water from the higher elevation along the Berbice River to irrigate the backlands of the Black Bush Polder rice cultivation and at the same time to reduce the excessive
surface runoff
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...
precipitation during the rainy season. Hence, the Canje River is at a lower elevation and it's the shortest distance of the two to the Atlantic Ocean “storehouse”.
See also
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Agriculture in Guyana
Agriculture in Guyana is dominated by sugar and rice production. Although once the chief industry, it has been overshadowed by mining.
Land use
Historically, agriculture was the chief economic activity in Guyana despite the coastal plain which ...
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East Demerara Water Conservancy
The East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) is one of Guyana's major water storage and flood control facilities. Over 500,000 residents inhabit the basin that lies below and between the sea wall and the EDWC Dam in a 48 km band from Georget ...
References
Canals in Guyana
Geography of Guyana
Sugar industry of Guyana
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