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East La Penitence residents without water for two weeks
…GWI blames road projects
Guyana Power Light
Kaieteur News – Residents of East La Penitence, along with several communities in Georgetown, the East Coast Demerara, and East Bank Demerara, have been without a reliable water supply for nearly two weeks, as Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) remains unable to resolve the issue.
On Thursday, frustrated residents contacted Kaieteur News complaining about not having access to water for nearly four weeks. One resident explained that she was forced to spend money on bottled water to carry out basic household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing. The resident also expressed concern about the impact the water shortage is having on school children in the area. “I am deeply concerned about the children attending nearby schools, how are they functioning,” the woman said.
Contacted on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Water Inc. (GWI), Shaik Baksh, said that the ongoing water disruption in East La Penitence and surrounding areas is not GWI’s responsibility. Instead, he attributed the issue to road construction works being carried out by the Ministry of Public Works. “They are getting water but there is low pressure. Because of the works going on, especially in Sussex Street and so on, pipe works are going on. The Ministry of Public Works is carrying out road construction, expanding the road. They have to remove the pipelines because they are scanning the road. So when they do that, it is affecting the level of service…” Baksh said.
He further stated, “GWI is not doing any of the pipe works there, but we’re observing the process because we have an interest. I hope they finish quickly because a lot of interconnections are being done.”
When asked whether GWI would implement any measures to assist residents in the interim, Baksh responded, “They have to wait until the works are completed. We cannot do anything else. We’ve sent a team into the area to see how we could boost the supply, but it’s difficult with the interconnections because you have to cut off the water sometimes, and that affects the water supply. We are aware of it, and we are working hard to minimise the impact.”
Meanwhile, GWI issued several public notices on Thursday via its official Facebook page, alerting residents to ongoing water supply disruptions. According to the announcements, communities on the East Coast Demerara — including Haslington, Coldingen, Strathspey, Enterprise, Paradise, Foulis, Bachelor’s Adventure, and Enmore — will be affected due to the continuation of interconnection works at Cinema Road and the Embankment Junction.
In addition to the East Coast, residents in several other areas are also facing water disruptions. These include parts of central Georgetown, the East Bank Demerara, Region Six, Region Ten, and South Georgetown. However, many residents remain frustrated, claiming they received no prior warning and have been without water for months. In comments online: “No water in GT for months now can’t cook, wash nor clean…” — Rita Joseph. “No water in Alexander Village months now,” — Crystal Persaud. “The water has been off for days! Sick and tired of this water issue,” — Aliya Heywood
“There is no water since this morning in East La Penitence area… how you expect people to cook, bath, go work?” — Alves Michelle. “I’m a home food business, I can’t even do my work cause there is no water… it’s not just today this going on for the longest while,” —Larose Maya. A similar issue was reported in South Georgetown, where residents of East La Penitence described unusually low water pressure lasting almost three weeks, with little explanation from GWI. One resident said: “The pressure used to be normal … Then, almost three weeks ago, the pressure dropped … And still, no one has told us what’s going on.”
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