Latest update December 18th, 2024 5:45 AM
Jan 11, 2023 Letters
Dear Editor,
In a News Article on the above referenced subject which appeared in KN on Jan. 05, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) disclosed that the Demerara River is becoming ‘more and more polluted’ because of oil operations which is impacting Guyana’s waterways.
Guyana is extracting crude oil from underground sources along its Atlantic Coastland and there are reasons to believe that unintentional oil spills in the ocean are drifting westwards by tidal currents and entering some estuarine waterways.
Most of the country’s coastal potable water comes from artesian wells while that for Georgetown and its environs is derived from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC). There is no evidence that any of these sources of drinking water is polluted by the crude oil being extracted from the coastland’s oil-bearing rocks. Linden, Wismar, Bartica and other riverine communities get their drinking water from the adjacent rivers/creeks and/or rainfall which are not polluted by the crude oil being extracted along the coastland. The tidal currents travelling westwardly along the coast will limit the distance any polluted salt water could enter into inland waterways. Before any changes are made to the existing and proposed rivers sources of drinking water, GWI should carryout laboratory testing of the waters to determine their pollutants including odor, suspending materials and discoloration. Based on the laboratory findings action could then be taken to determine the viability of changing the existing water sources vis-a’-vis chemical and other treatments costs and establish which water source would be economically justified. There is no doubt that the Watooka Conservancy and the new Bartica source for alternative drinking water will need to have the water treated for some pollution, discoloration and filtration and not just disinfection.
Finally, the Article stated that the proposed gas-to-energy project to be located at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara will likely pose great danger to the country’s main groundwater aquifer there which was stated to provide about 90% of all domestic and commercial water. Fortunately, Wales does not sit on Guyana’s main groundwater aquifer since most coastal artesian wells get their water from independent aquifers. It is very unlikely that Natural Gas Liquids from the proposed gas plant will percolate into the groundwater and pollute it. If GWI has evidence that this has occurred elsewhere it should make the information available to enable Guyanese to make a determination before any funding is earmarked.
Yours truly,
Charles Sohan
Dec 18, 2024
-KFC Goodwill Int’l Football Series heats up today Kaieteur News- The Petra Organisation’s fifth Annual KFC International Secondary Schools Goodwill Football Series intensified yesterday with two...Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- In any vibrant democracy, the mechanisms that bind it together are those that mediate differences,... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – The government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela has steadfast support from many... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]