IN an attempt to move from the ‘old’ windmill water pumps, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) is seeking to implement solar-powered water wells in every Hinterland Region.

Some of the modernised systems have already been implemented in communities around the country, but more is yet to be done said GWI’s Hinterland Manager, Osei Maniford.

During an interview with members of the media, Maniford explained that residents of hinterland communities will benefit extensively from the new project, as opposed to the old system.

The shift from the windmill water pumps was necessary because of the struggle to get parts for machine. “Most of the time when something goes wrong with one of the windmill structures we don’t find parts so we have to fabricate a new windmill, which is very costly,” said the GWI’s hinterland manager.

It was explained that although solar panels are costly, the lifespan is long so maintenance cost is less. And, a solution to cutting other costs has been tested and proven effective by GWI. The company trained 27 persons from various villages in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to operate and the solar-powered wells.

Certificates were given to the participants on Tuesday after they completed the two-day training programme, which was facilitated by GWI’s consultant, Aubrey Marks.

Given that over 50 villages in Region Nine benefit from the solar-powered well, the company thought it best to train persons from those villages to operate and fix the machines.
“Instead of travelling from Georgetown to Lethem to fix minor problems, we decided to train these persons so that we can ensure that water is restored to persons in the villages because, it takes days for the team to arrive to [the] hinterland,” said Maniford.

If the persons who were trained are unable to fix the problem they will be able to send an informative report to the head office in Georgetown. That way, GWI will be able to know what exactly is needed to fix the problem, instead of travelling miles to diagnose the problem and then head back to Georgetown in order to procure the requisite materials and then return to the community.

Trainees responded well to the progamme, said Marks, who indicated that during the sessions they were able to immediately identify problems with some of the systems in the community.

Some of the beneficiaries explained that they will ensure that they apply what they have learnt to meet the needs of the wells in their villages. They said that their villages will never be without water from now on.

GWI’s Managing Director, Dr Richard Van-West Charles said that the programme will be implemented in other regions across the country.