Gastro outbreak…Plans underway to improve Port Kaituma water system

Mar 25, 2013 News

– Baksh

Plans are in the pipeline to improve the water system in Port Kaituma, Region One, in the wake of the recent deadly gastro-enteritis outbreak there.
This is the word from Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Water Inc, Shaik Baksh.
The Minister told Kaieteur News that the government is currently working on a plan to have clean portable water in Port Kaituma, but he could not say when the study will be concluded.

Would you drink from this river? The polluted Port Kaituma River

He explained that because of the geological makeup of the mining district, a water well will not be feasible; but if something has to be done, there will be a water treatment system as in the case of Bartica, where water is supplied from the Essequibo River through a water treatment system.
During a recent visit by this publication to Port Kaituma, a number of residents expressed their disgust over the quality of water that is being pumped to the community.
One woman, who identified herself as Olive Roberts said that many persons have their latrines next to the river and “there are people who come on big boats and each boat has about seven crew members and they defecate in the water which we have to drink.”
“Port Kaituma is dirty, the environment is not healthy and the water is worst, it is making people here sick and the bottled water is too expensive,” Roberts stressed.
Another resident, David, explained that the contaminated Sebai river water is what is being pumped into the pipelines without being treated.
“Because of this gastro outbreak, they (government) sending doctors in here, but if they treat the water they don’t need to send doctors and spend so much money because no one will be sick,” he said.
He explained that the garbage from the market is being dumped into the water that they have to drink.
A five gallon bottle of treated water is being sold for more than $2000 in the mining district and those who are not miners cannot afford to purchase the necessity, hence they are forced to turn to the river water which is highly polluted.
Two people have died and several have been hospitalized due to the gastro-enteritis. Test on water samples revealed the presence of the E.coli bacteria.