Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, during a recent visit to Bartica, urged residents to conserve as much water as possible since wastage is costing the Ministry much resources. He noted that persons are often complaining of the enormity of their water bills and the Ministry is currently looking at installing meters to regulate the water charges. This, he noted, will not add any financial burden, but will allow customers to better manage their water use.

Minister of Housing and Water, Irfaan Ali, at right, meets with officials at the Bartica water treatment plant.

According to Minister Ali, a key issue being faced is the fact that the Bartica water treatment plant was built on old technology as such it utilises more energy which in turn increases the operating cost. He explained that despite the operating cost, Government still continues to cover the extra cost, and has not asked the residents to pay for it.

Minister Ali pointed out that his ministry is currently engaging in a data cleansing exercise that will allow realistic readings for the current collection rate.

The water treatment plant currently serves about 75 percent of the residents of Bartica, and it is expected that the Four-Miles and Five-Miles housing schemes will also benefit from this. The ground storage tank has a current capacity of 500,000 litres, though this is not the total amount of water that is produced per day.

Regional Executive Officer of Region Seven, Peter Ramotar, pointed out that at present the water supply in Bartica is efficient.

The 500,000 litre ground storage tank at the Bartica water treatment plant.

In an effort to ensure that all communities across Guyana are provided with the best water and housing facilities available, Government spent $1.6B for the construction of the Bartica water treatment plant. It has exhausted approximately $20M more in its drive to upgrade this facility, and to meet the increasing demand for water distribution. This included a new bore-hole to serve the expanded community, and the plant runs for a full 24- hour period.
The Four and Five Miles housing schemes which come under the low income housing programme will expand the housing capacity to a further 600 house lots in Bartica. Minister Ali noted that the expansion of the Four-Miles housing scheme will bring with it some multi- dimensional challenges and household development, and more commercial entities will call for changes in water use since the demand for water will also increase.