Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) announced yesterday that the current metering project at Goed Fortuin, West Coast Demerara, has been successful. GWI’s Director of Capital Investment and Planning, Mr. Altaf Gafoor, said the installation of the meters has resulted in a significantly improved level of service.
He said,  “Following the installation of meters, customers are more conscious of wastage. The meter serves as a constant reminder that the customer is paying for actual consumption, hence customers of Goed Fortuin adapted to the meters by avoiding wastage and using only what is required.  This resulted in more water in the system, hence higher water pressure, even during peak hours when most customers have their taps on.”

The project aims at metering all households in Goed Fortuin.  To date 436 meters have been installed.
“Our target is 480 installations,” says Project Manager, Sunildatt Barran.
GWI’s Chief Executive, Yuri Chandisingh, stated, “Meters are an integral tool to improve water service.  Goed Fortuin is an excellent example of customers being conscious of how much water is wasted because of the presence of the meter on their service connection.  We have a number of metering projects on-going throughout the country and our medium term metering target is 50%.”

The Chief Executive noted that customers need to appreciate the benefits of metering.  “As more customers are metered, we can expect massive improvements in service levels.  When a customer’s service is metered, trends have revealed that less water is consumed and wastage is decreased.  This results in more supply being available in the system, hence the increase in water pressure.  On the commercial side, metered customers pay for actual consumption, rather than a fixed charge.”