Latest update April 11th, 2025 9:20 AM
Submersible waste water pumps to boost city’s sewage system
As the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) strives to improve its operations, much attention is being directed to the central sewage system.
In this regard, a US$422,560 contract was signed between GWI and FCT Technologies Incorporated, of Miami, Florida, which will allow for the supply of 28 submersible waste water pumps for the upgrade of the sewage system in the city.
The contract was inked recently behind closed doors, by GWI Chief Executive, Karan Singh and Chairman of FCT, Asad Ishoof.
From left: GWI Chief Executive Karan Singh; Head of Procurement, Dhani Narine, and FCT Chairman Asad Ishoof during the signing of the contract
According to Head of Procurement, Dhani Narine, the pumps are expected to be delivered within eight to 12 weeks.
Narine disclosed, too, that one component of the contract will allow for the supervision of the installation of the pumps and training of local personnel by FCT.
Currently, the water company relies on the recently completed Tucville Sewer System.
The sewer system had become a cause for concern a few years ago when a young child who ventured into the unfenced facility lost her life when she fell into the sewer pit there.
Shortly after, works were engaged to ensure no other such incident would occur at that facility.
The water company is also reliant on the Central Georgetown Sewer System.
Narine, in offering a background into the Georgetown sewerage network, said that the system was commissioned in 1929, and was designed with 24 pump stations.
All of the pump stations, according to him, were equipped with individual feed mains of varying lengths linked to a common pumping main network that includes one primary and two secondary ring mains connected to a single outfall.
The outfall discharges into the Demerara River close to the Kingston Fort Groin, Narine added, even as he pointed out that the entire network criss-crosses over Central Georgetown and is relatively flat, due to the topography of the city.
“There are, however, a few slight rises and falls where air valves are installed to prevent airlocks. At the outfall, there’s a humped section that prevents the ingress of seawater into the system at high tides; and as this is higher than any other point in the network, all upstream pipelines are pressurised, rather than being a gravity system.”
For this reason, Narine noted, the humped section has a vent pipe at the highest point to allow the downstream section of the outfall to operate as an inverted siphon.
The sewer system in its original design, he said, was equipped with two pumps at each station – one duty and one standby.
However, Narine disclosed, “Wear and tear over the years has destroyed most of the pumps at these stations. Under a rehabilitation project in the period 1885 – 1989, 23 of the 24 stations had their pumps replaced, but further wear and cannibalism of the stations have left the majority of these stations without even one operable pump-motor assembly.”
The Procurement Officer disclosed that currently there are nine operable pump stations in the Central Georgetown sewer system, which according to him means that “the sewage removal has become quite difficult, relying only on the few pump stations.”
As such, a massive station rehabilitation programme is slated to take off, with the support of FCT, which will see the replacement of the old pumps with new submersible pumps at each station.
The rehabilitation programme, Narine said, will also improve the control system, which will definitely provide better protection that will prolong the life of the power company’s electromechanical systems.
At the conclusion of the programme, he pointed out that the number of overflows and blockages will decrease drastically.
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