GUYANA Water Inc. (GWI) last weekend hosted a two-day non-revenue water (NRW) workshop for senior and middle management personnel who were equipped with information and tools to improve their performance. The workshop was held at GWI’s corporate complex, Shelterbelt, Georgetown.

According to GWI’s Head of Technical Services, Aubrey Roberts, GWI experiences daily financial losses due to leaks, tampering and damage to water mains and meters. Due to these losses, GWI has to produce twice the amount of water needed by customers. “Our recent workshop was aimed at informing senior and middle management personnel about the issues and challenges associated with non-revenue water reduction and management,” stated Roberts. “Participants were also given field exposure to the implementation of GWI’s District Metered Area Programme.”

Additionally, participants were informed about the NRW interventions implemented by Trinidad and Belize Water companies. Special emphasis was placed on the Belize example, since similar interventions are planned for Guyana’s water sector. “The Belize water company manages non-revenue water by conducting frequent meter readings to detect leaks and ensure prompt repairs,” Roberts further stated.

GWI continues to embark on a massive metering campaign which aims at managing and reducing NRW. Customers are also being educated via GWI’s metering sensitisation campaign under the theme, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. Since the commencement of the metering campaign, NRW was reduced by 10%.

Residents are also encouraged to reduce NRW by practising water conservation, promptly reporting leaks to GWI’s Customer Services Call Centre at Tel: 227-8701, and not tampering and damaging water mains and meters. This will result in more reliable and adequate water service, higher water pressure for citizens, longer hours of water supply, and more effective management of GWI’s resources.