Jamaican company for Mt Rodney CMR project coastal assessment

by Linda Straker

• Smith Warner International to do Mt Rodney coastal assessment
• Assessment to understand beach erosion and possible link to St Patrick Breakwater Project
• At least 8 families relocated since Breakwater project completed
• Duration of studies will be just a little over 3 months

A Jamaican company specialising in coastal engineering, coastal zone management and marine-related Environmental Impact Assessments was recently awarded the Government of Grenada contract to conduct the coastal assessment of the “Mt Rodney Coastal Mitigation and Restoration Project.”

Falling under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Programme, the Mt Rodney Project which will be undertaken by Smith Warner International, is aimed at getting a better understanding of the beach erosion and wave battering that is currently occurring and the possible link to the St Patrick Breakwater Project.

“They have been contracted and work has commenced at the Sauteurs Bay area. “They are putting in the surveys, doing the data collection or collecting baseline data,” said Infrastructure Development Minister Norland Cox. He explained that the company will be doing all the baseline studies and preparing the necessary documents that Government will use as part of the bidding process to undertake the restoration work. “This will then go out to tender and then be implemented. We expect the duration of the studies will be just a little over three months,” Cox announced during the post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday, 9 March 2021.

Several years ago, Government undertook the construction of the breakwater project on the Sauteurs Bay because of the continuous inflow of seawater inland that was undermining the structure of homes and businesses close or on the sea coast. However, since that project was completed, there has been constant battering on the coast by waves and the seawater is flowing more and more inland. At least 8 families have had to be relocated because of the seawater flowing inland. What was once land space is now occupied with seawater.

Since registering in 1995, Smith Warner International has become the largest Caribbean firm specialising in coastal engineering, coastal zone management, marine-related EIA, oceanography, and the construction and supervision of related projects. According to its website, the company offers ecosystem-based approaches to design. Its vision is for “resilient coasts that enable shoreline and waterfront development for thriving economies, social wellbeing, and robust ecosystems in a changing climate.”