…seven villages to benefit

OVER 1,000 persons in seven villages in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) will receive upgraded water systems in the near future as the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) has moved to provide permanent and innovative solutions.

Since the latter part of January, 2019 to date GWI has visited some 33 communities in Region Nine and logged 12 wells.
Under focus now is the Sand Creek Secondary School dormitory through which some 148 students will be relieved of fetching water as the GWI will examine alternative water provision.

“One option is to channel water from a nearby creek as an interim measure, after a water quality test is completed,” a release to the media stated.
Four storage tanks will be provided along with some 1300 metres of pipelines running to the dorms.

Meanwhile, the school’s distribution network will be redesigned to allow for an adequate water supply throughout the school compound.
GWI will also be working to activate a new well drilled through a joint initiative with GWI and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

In addition, Managing Director Dr. Richard Van West-Charles told the gathering that GWI intends to collaborate with the Regional Executive Officer to address plumbing issues at the sanitary blocks at the health center and the school.

These solutions were derived during community meetings with village leaders and residents on March 2 and 3, 2019.
Over at the village of Shiriri, GWI will ensure that all solar panels and pumps are functional enabling 104 villagers to receive adequate water supply as opposed to relying on two hand pump wells, one of which has not functioned for four years.

The community is also challenged when its hand dug wells become contaminated when it rains and when the creek they seek out as an alternative gets dry regularly.
As such, the water company will also work to reactivate a defective well and will also correct the plumbing at the school’s sanitary block.

In Rupunau, GWI intends to examine the possibility of accessing of a rig to go beyond the rocks to drill a new well along with the undertaking of camera inspection; resistivity logging; pump test and installation of solar panels

Meanwhile, for residents of Meriwau the GWI will examine the functionality of their current pump as well as other means of improving water access in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

Some 800 residents of Shulinab like Shiriri also depend on hand pumps and hand dug wells which go dry during droughts or get contaminated during rainy seasons.
As such, the GWI has assured residents that it will pump test an existing well to determine its production capacity and once found to be adequate, a distribution network will be installed to provide water security among households in the South Pole area and other parts of Shulinab.

According to the release, “Residents also noted that the health centre; hot meal programme; school and 15 households rely on water from one source which has proven to be inadequate. In this regard, GWI intends to work with the Ministries of Education [and] Indigenous Peoples Affairs and the Regional Democratic Council to address same.”

The small community of Quiko will not be left out as GWI has plans to upgrade the existing pipe network extending distribution lines to households west of the village.
The decision comes as community members are not currently benefitting from the existing water system.

“The company will also explore the possibility of drilling a new well for water security purposes. To ensure maintenance of these systems, GWI will train two persons from the community who have been identified by the village council as service men,” the GWI said.
Over at Potarnau, some 613 persons will experience improved water service as GWI will add four additional storage tanks to the existing four that have proven to be insufficient.
The communitys will also undergo a test pump for production capacity while training for service men will be conducted.

These efforts will be added to plans to disinfect an existing well in the community, taking monthly samples for water quality analysis.

Soon, citizens in the Deep South in eight communities will also receive additional attention as works are underway for the installation of distribution networks, water quality testing, community mapping, well development and more.