A permanent solution to flooding at Mill Creek would cost up to $4 million, Public Works Minister Derrick Burgess told the House of Assembly.Mr Burgess said business owners in that area need to step forward to foot the bill for that idea, which involves pumping water out of the canal into a pond.In the meantime, Government is pressing ahead with its plan to construct a new sluice gate aimed at reducing the severity and frequency of overflows at the notorious flooding spot.Speaking in a Ministerial Statement at the end of a week when Mill Creek flooded once again, Mr Burgess called for local property owners to make sure they aren’t compounding the problem by allowing waste materials to clog up the canal.Asked by Opposition leader John Barritt in Parliamentary Question Time whether any permanent solutions have been identified, Mr Burgess replied the pond idea would be “very expensive: $3 or $4 million”.He said Government has met with landowners, adding: “Once they take responsibility for the money, we will assist to get it right.”Business owners have long complained about flooding some of them blaming Government for overdeveloping Hamilton so the water has nowhere else to go other than Mill Creek.In his statement, the Deputy Premier said: “The low lying area of Mill Creek has always been vulnerable to flooding in unusually high tides, storm surges and high rainfall.“However, a number of other factors have contributed to the recent flooding, including debris accumulation in the canal and, perhaps more significantly, the growth of urban areas around the canal which creates greater rain run-off which results in flooding.“Located at the end of the Pembroke Canal at Mill Creek is a sluice gate: a device designed to prevent water entering the canal at high tides, but permitting water to drain through at low tides.“The Ministry of Public Works plans to construct a new sluice gate that will reduce the severity and incidence of flooding by allowing a greater amount of water to flow out during low tides. The design is complete and we hope to start construction in the near future.“Due to the low lying nature of the Mill Creek area, the installation of a new sluice gate, although much larger, will not entirely remove the risk of flooding in future.“When high tides coincide with heavy rainfall some flooding may occur. But it should, as said, greatly reduce the frequency and severity of the flooding.”Mr Burgess said there are other mundane contributors to the flooding of the canal.He continued: “Chief of those is the obstruction of the canal by foreign debris. The Ministry therefore requests that all property owners bounding the Pembroke Canal inspect their properties for loose debris and horticultural waste to prevent this material entering and blocking the canal.“In addition, area residents and the public generally are reminded that fluids containing silt and sand should not be drained into the canal as these materials are deposited downstream, particularly in the slower moving waters along Mill Creek Road, thereby reducing the depth of the canal and exacerbating the flooding in the area.”