Residents at Mahdia Region 8 (Potaro/Siparuni) who were faced with a severe shortage of potable water in recent weeks due to dry weather conditions, were given some respite by intermittent showers of rain over the weekend.

“The rains came just the right time,” Regional Chairman Senor Bell said yesterday.

He added that the Administration had been on the verge of activating an emergency plan to get water from the Potaro River 12 miles away.

“This would have started to happen from yesterday but we are now happy that, thanks to the rains, we have been able to postpone that plan.”

Regional Executive Officer, Ishwar Dass, said yesterday that Minister of Local Government Kellawan Lall, who had been keeping in touch with the Administration on the potable water situation, had been informed about the break in the dry weather and the postponement of the emergency plan, at least for the time being.

Meanwhile, residents of Mahdia were also thankful for the rains for other reasons.

“That plan to get water from the Potaro River would have caused some serious problems” one woman opined.

She explained: “That Potaro River is contaminated with waste from mining and mercury. Using that water would have been a disaster for this community.”

She stressed, “We know it because long ago we used to catch a lot of haimara fish in the river. Nowadays you can’t even catch a cockabelly ,” she said.

Regional Chairman Senor Bell, told the Guyana Chronicle two weeks ago that the Salbora Creek, the sole source of water supplies for the village, had dried up as a result of the drought.

The water problems, due to the dried state of other creeks in the area, had also led to a shut down of gold mining operations.

Bell said yesterday that residents were hoping that the rains in the past few days were harbingers of the December rains and the beginning of a much needed replenishment of the creeks from which the village obtained its potable water supplies.