concept EIA-rapport - Staatsolie

SRK Consulting: Project No: 439414 Staatsolie Pipeline EIA – Draft EIA Report Page 28
Figure 4-5: Four major physiographic regions of Northern Suriname
The study area is indicated by the black dot. The ridges of the Young Coastal Plain are indicated with ‘r’.
The pipeline corridor is located in the Young Coastal Plain (units 1 and (1) r), in a section referred to
as the ‘River landscape’. Elevation is up to 2.5 m above NSP 11 , with ridges rising some 1-3 m above
the surrounding clay flats. The area is characterised by the deposition of predominantly fine (silty to
fine sandy clay) marine sediments, fresh to brackish conditions and tidal influence. Most of the
pipeline corridor has elevations between 0.8 and 1.5 m above NSP.
Drainage of the River landscape is relatively good, due to the proximity of the river. Under natural
conditions, the levees are inundated during high (spring) tide and the backswamps have a shallow
inundation during part of the rainy season and after springtide at high river levels. In the study area,
most of the land is now protected by low dams along the river and flooding does not occur any
longer.
The area north of the Saramacca Canal belongs to the Kwatta landscape, which is characterized by
alternating sandy ridges and depressions filled with clay. However, the area has been severely
disturbed by cut and fill intended to level the land, and the original landscape cannot be
distinguished anymore. The current area is almost flat. The ground level in this part of the pipeline
corridor is 1.9 - 2.1 m above NSP. Considerable earth moving activities still take place in this section.
11 NSP: Normaal Surinaams Peil, the national reference datum, which is defined as the mean sea level in the mouth of the
Suriname River in the year 1956.
REUT/DALC 439414_StaatsoliePipelineEIA_Draft EIA Report_Final June 2012