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Gov’t considers water rationing as El Nino takes toll

Feb 13, 2010 News

The government may consider controlling access and delivery of water as the continuous dry spell takes its toll countrywide, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.
Dr Luncheon, speaking at his weekly post Cabinet news briefing said the projection is that the dry season will continue to the end of the first quarter.
As a result, a consideration of rationing the use of water may very well be placed on the front burner.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud will meet with farmers and inspect emergency works being undertaken within the East Demerara Water Conservancy and provide an update on the current El Nino phenomenon, tomorrow.
Dr Luncheon said that irrigation water for farmlands on the coast is severely threatened, as well as the surface water which provides 50 percent of the water for consumption in the city.
He said that water in the conservancies is at an all-time low and interventions made to pump water into them were stopped because of the infiltration of salt water.
Recently, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) said that due to the prolonged dry season affecting many parts of the country, there has been a significant decrease in the water level at the Lamaha Canal.  The canal serves a large portion of the capital Georgetown and surrounding environs and as such, GWI is appealing to customers to be prudent in the use of water as the current weather pattern continues to prevail.
According to Chief Executive, GWI, Yuri Chandisingh, the decrease in the water level of the canal was sufficient to prompt us to engage the assistance of the East Demerara Water Conservancy Board (EDWCB).”  The Lamaha canal feeds from the East Demerara Water Conservancy, which holds water for use by farmers along the coastland during the dry season.
However, the East Demerara Water Conservancy is now also at a low level and the water has ceased flowing into the Lamaha Canal. Chandisingh said the EDWCD is mobilising pumps that will replenish the Lamaha canal by pumping water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy into the Lamaha canal.
“This will assist us in ensuring that there is not a significant reduction in water pressure during the dry season,” said Chandisingh, “however I must implore customers to be sensible in their use of water in light of the prolonged dry season.”
The Company is urging customers across Guyana to utilise water for beneficial purposes only.  According to the Chief Executive, “we are appealing to our customers to avoid using water for unnecessary reasons such as washing concrete surfaces or using GWI’s supply to wash cars.  Customers must be cognizant that they are supplied with safe, purified water which should be used for domestic purposes only.”

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