Dear Editor,
I write this letter out of sheer exasperation, hoping that the powers-that-be at the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) read it and do something urgently and quickly to alleviate an existing water problem affecting us, the residents of Schoonord, La Parfaite Harmonie.

I live at 329 Schoonord, La Parfaite Harmonie, which is situated immediately north of the new access road linking the West Bank Demerara main road with Parfaite Harmonie. The problem is that, for the past four weeks and counting, households within my community have not been receiving any potable water, except on a few isolated occasions, when it trickled at ground level at hours after midnight and lasted for about an hour or thereabouts. For most, if not all of us, this situation occurring in the midst of the current dry weather has resulted in our black tanks and other reservoirs of water running dry from the process of constant usage and non-replenishment.

We are now at our wits’ end trying to determine what to do next to counter our predicament, since no help seems to be forthcoming from GWI. Talk about praying for rain!

Editor, practically all the affected residents that I’ve spoken to claim that they called the GWI office at Pouderoyen and reported the matter, but to no avail. I myself called on many occasions. Jointly and severally, we were given a plethora of varying reasons for the extant situation. Some of us were told that the problem lies with Guyana Power and Light (GPL), whilst others, including myself, were informed that it is a pump problem.
The point here is that officials at the GWI Pouderoyen office are aware of our plight, yet there is a palpable indifference towards resolving the issue.

Of note is that the problem affects just about 30 to 40 households in the Schoonord area, since I’m aware that residents in other parts of Schoonord, and indeed in the remainder of Parfaite Harmonie, are not in any way afflicted by the daily non-supply of potable water similar to what we are currently experiencing. It means therefore that the problem is localised to just the section of Schoonord where I live.

Another point of note is that, ever since this crisis started, GWI has not seen it fit to alleviate the situation by sending in water trucks to deliver water to residents. But they found it fit to send estimated water bills for the very period during which they fully well knew we were not receiving any water. How more cynical or ridiculous can one get?

Editor, on Saturday, 10th instant, as I was jogging through the community at about 05:30 hrs, I saw a few residents drawing water from the stagnant drains in front of their homes to do their household chores. Here I am talking about decent, proud, middle-class citizens living in well-appointed houses, who have been reduced to scavenging for the precious commodity in unhealthy places because of the prevailing circumstance. Notwithstanding, it’s a practice that can have dire health consequences.

Incidentally, the sight of my fellow residents foraging in the gutters for water transported me back in time to the year 1985, when I vividly recall collecting trench water on one occasion to carry out ablution and other household cleansing duties. Surely, it begs the question as to whether we have made any measurable progress as a nation in terms of quality of life between then and now.

Finally, as we all know, part of GWI’s slogan reads “Water is Life…” but it seems that only some lives matter in this country. I am not a betting person, but I’m willing to make an exception in this instance to wager that if the problem outlined above were located in Prashad Nagar, Bel Air, Pradoville, or any of the other upscale communities in this country, it would have been fixed pronto after the first phone call. The optimist that I am however, I’m hoping that the publication of this letter will move GWI to sort out in a timely manner whatever problem there is that is preventing us from getting water in our homes.

Remington Eastman