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CEO, Shaik Baksh says : “Polluted Demerara River costing GWI more to treat drinking water”
Kaieteur News – Amid growing concerns of the impacts of oil operations on this country waterways, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Shaik Baksh has disclosed that the Demerara River is becoming “more and more polluted” and is costing the company more money to treat drinking water for citizens.
Already the operations of ExxonMobil and its partners have virtually crippled the fishing industry here and this announcement by Baksh will cause greater concerns by Guyanese.
Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer for the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Shaik Baksh
Baksh underscored that while providing quality water to GWI customers is a priority, water treatment is one of the major challenge the company faces. “Now they are challenges…a major area of challenge is the water quality and we have outlined what we are doing. It’s not only planning, we are beyond planning, we now have programmes and projects in place to ensure this becomes a reality…” he said.
Baksh shared that one such programme is to switch the source of water being treated and distributed to some residents of Linden, Region 10. He disclosed that presently, the company uses water from the Demerara River to distribute to the residents of Wismar, Linden and surrounding areas. The CEO noted however, that the water is becoming more and more polluted and in order to acquire the chemicals needed to treat the water before it is distributed to residents, it is costing the company more.
“The people of Wismar and surrounding areas are receiving water from the Demerara River and that water is becoming more and more polluted, it’s a huge cost for chemical treatment,” Baksh said.
As such, he explained that the company has embarked on a project to improve water quality to the residents of Linden. He added that GWI have identified the Watooka Conservancy as the source for better water to be distributed to the residents of Linden. “…the West Watooka Conservancy, very good quality of water with a minimum of treatment, only disinfection because its stream water,” GWI’s CEO stated.
According to him, by March 31, 2023, the company is expected to switch from the water being used from the Demerara River, to that from the West Watooka conservancy. “So this is on the move, so the people of Linden can look forward to a better quality of water and this would be extended across the bridge to other parts like McKenzie (Linden) at a later date,” Baksh said.
Guyana’s accelerated oil operations offshore have resulted in an increase in more marine traffic passing through the country’s main channel– the Demerara River. The river is also Guyana’s main hub of all import and export trade. Just recently, the dredging of the Demerara River channel was completed to facilitate the US$300 million shore-base facility which is being constructed at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
The Demerara Harbour Bridge, which runs across the Demerara River connecting Regions Four and Three
Only recently, Geologist, Simone Mangal-Jolly raised concerns about the location identified by the Government of Guyana for the country’s gas-to-energy project. She said the site is unsuitable and will likely pose great danger to the country’s main groundwater aquifer. An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater from aquifers is extracted using a water well.
The Government of Guyana, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year approved ExxonMobil’s pipeline and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Plant for Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) in the absence of any updated studies. Notably, a critical document to prove the safety of the area was never published. The site at Wales sits above Guyana’s main groundwater aquifer that provides 90 percent of all the domestic and commercial water. As such, Mangal-Joly has labeled the approval of Exxon’s project “criminal”.
New water source
Moreover, Baksh also shared during the press conference that GWI has identified a new source of water to supply the residents of Bartica, Region Seven.
“We intend to ensure we can exploit that source at Five Miles; we call it Five to Seven Miles Creek and to be able to provide the people of Bartica with a better quality of water because right now, although it is being treated, they are getting water from the Mazaruni River…we are hoping that within the next two to three years to move that supply source of water from the Mazaruni River to this very good source (Five to Seven Miles Creek),” the CEO said.
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