GWI making strides with equitable water supply across country

Jul 13, 2018 News

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The realisation of a seafood processing plant in Region One will require moves by the Guyana Water Incorporated [GWI] to direct some infrastructural investment in that section of the country. Plans in this regard were on Wednesday disclosed by Managing Director of the water company, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, during a press conference at the Shelter Belt Vlissengen Road and Church Street office.
Based on some calls from Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, and Minister within the same Ministry, Ms. Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Dr. Van-West Charles said that GWI will be tasked with providing water to the processing plant.
Estimated at $10 million, the processing plant, which is slated to be built at a location in Smith Creek, Region One, is expected to process crab and fish caught by residents of Smith Creek, Morawhanna and Imbotero [all in Region One]. The sale of this seafood is said to be the main source of income for the residents there.
“That project requires water, so we have to now look at probably drilling a well in that community to serve that economic project,” said Dr. Van West Charles.
According to the GWI Managing Director, “We visited Smith Creek; we provided a large lifesaver filter and the Region is going to be putting up the trestle and so forth, but they are going to get water from the river and it is going to be purified.”
Undertaking this project, according to Dr. Charles, represents a few of the projects that GWI is currently spearheading as part of its efforts to provide equitable service to the nation.
A move in this direction, he said, “is really responding to the President’s [David Granger] call for equity between the hinterland regions and more or less the coastal regions and that is by definition the mission of the organisation to respond to and provide potable water nationwide, not only on the coast.”
Speaking of its ongoing works in the hinterland communities, Dr. Van West Charles said, “The information we have got so far tells us that certain times of the year when water in the river is low, the water becomes brackish, so they can’t use that water all year round.”
“Even with climate change many of these hinterland communities that are using surface water are under threat,” he added.
For this reason, he said, “we are now looking at not only the use of surface water but ground water in many hinterland communities. In some communities it presents a challenge because of the rock formation and we have to have the right equipment to do the drilling and some other diagnostic equipment to be sure that where we drill, the chances of success will be higher than to be drilling in the blind.”
In its continued quest to help improve the quality of potable water on a national scale, the GWI Managing Director revealed that there are also ongoing projects geared at improving the water supply at public schools.
“That is one of the things we have found in some schools in the hinterland regions, they were built and there is no water…children were actually bringing water from home…I know in Batavia, Region Seven [for example] this is the situation,” Dr. Van West Charles said.
This project, he disclosed, is one that is being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the regional administrations.
“That is an activity that is countrywide…we have been cleaning the [water] tanks, checking samples of water from the tanks, disinfecting the tanks and seeking to ensure that the tanks are clear of any pathogens,” Dr. Van West Charles shared.
Among the regions in which the project is nearing completion are Regions Four and Six.
“Region Six is nearly finished and Region Four is more or less completed, with the exception of some schools on the East Coast [of Demerara] which we are working on,” said the Managing Director. However, the focus has not only been on school facilities but also on health facilities, including hospitals, health centres and health posts, throughout the regions.
The intent, Dr. Van West Charles said, is to be sure that the quality of water getting into those facilities is potable enough for human consumption.
“Our thinking is that the schools and hospitals within communities really serve as proxy indicators for the entire communities, so we are working in this direction to ensure that our schools and health facilities [are safe].”
In order to cater adequately to the health facilities, GWI has been working closely with the Ministry of Public Health and, according to Dr. Van West Charles, “the Ministry will also be seeing from its epidemiological data, the level of water-borne diseases in different parts of the country.”
Water-borne diseases have over the years been a major health challenge in hinterland communities, but with the ongoing support of GWI, it is expected that this will be considerably reduced.

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