THE Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has invested in excess of $400M over the last five years to rehabilitate the Georgetown Sewer System.
According to the Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, 15 of the 24 stations that exist have been fully rehabilitated and new pumps have been installed in an effort to facilitate the improvements. Explaining the implications of such an investment, Ali said:  “This has resulted in the improvement in the sanitation service provided to the residents in Georgetown which will automatically result in the reduction of disease related to poor sanitation.”
In the central Georgetown sewerage system, there are no treatment processes. However, the system comprises  24 interlinked sewerage basins each having a network of gravity sewers draining into a single pumping station, Ali added.
The 24 pumping stations then deliver the “untreated” flows into a common ring force main, then they are discharged to the mouth of the Demerara River via a short outfall at Fort Groyen, Kingston.
The minister noted that, despite the fact that GWI’s Sanitation Department works diligently to ensure that a certain amount of sewage pumps are working to keep the overflows to a minimum, the task has become a difficult one.
“This has become a very difficult task for the operators and maintenance workers, which is due mainly to the abuse of the sewerage system,” he stressed.
Over the years, GWI has expressed concern over the continued abuse and damage of the system, which has been attributed to large volumes of waste entering into the system causing blockages in the yard sewers and in the inlets of the pumps.
The most common items, which cause blockages, include plastic bags, newspapers, clothing, and other materials and when this occurs, the raw sewerage backs up into the customer’s yard.
In light of these issues, Ali urged residents in the city to be cognisant of the fact that when such situations arise, the maintenance crews who are responsible for the clearing of any blockages and overflows are then left to face these challenges caused by irresponsible behaviour.
In addition to this investment to rehabilitate the city’s sewer system, Ali revealed that improvement works have also been carried out on the distribution networks, which include the upgrade and installation of in excess of 50 kilometres and distribution mains and in excess of 27,000 new service connections.
As to the cost of such extensive upgrades, he noted that the total amount invested in these areas amounted to over $7 billion.
“These investments have resulted in the improvement of water quality and level of service to several areas across the country including Queenstown to Walton Hall on the Essequibo Coast, De Kinderen to St. Lawrence on the East Bank of Essequibo, Iverness to Shieldstown, West Coast Berbice,” he informed.