Minister Ali, PRO Austin give consumers assurance
MINISTER with the portfolio, Mr. Irfaan Ali has appealed to Guyanese countrywide to recognise that, while progress may begin with a well station, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) intends to improve the service delivered to all its customers with the placement of iron removal treatment facilities in strategic locations.
He issued the appeal during the commissioning of several well stations across the country, including at Cornelia Ida on West Coast Demerara, where he emphasied that development will continue, on an incremental basis. 
Over the past few days, residents in that community have been complaining about the quality of water flowing out of the well station.
In response to this yesterday, GWI Public Relations Officer, Mr. Timothy Austin explained that Cornelia Ida consumers are being served by a well station which does not have an iron removal facility. Despite this, however, he has assured that the water is regularly tested by GWI’s Scientific Services Department to ensure that it remains safe for use. 
“It is important to note that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has no health based guideline values for iron, a clear indication that iron is not a health hazard. We advocate that our customers always store water in clean, covered containers, to prevent contamination and other changes to water properties,” Austin advised.
In addition, he explained that Guyana’s soil content is naturally high in iron and, therefore, the water received by some customers served by well stations has high iron content, which does not pose a health threat and can be used for domestic purposes. 
As to the ‘rusty’ appearance of what is coming out of the taps, Austin noted that, when water containing iron is exposed to air, it oxidizes, changing the iron from soluble iron 2+ to insoluble iron 3+ (commonly manifested as rust) hence the appearance of the water.
The PRO gave his assurance that GWI workers are working round the clock to address this problem as well.
“GWI conducts regular flushing exercises in all areas to aid in removal of iron that may have accumulated in the pipelines, a strategy used to maintain consistent water quality in areas served by well stations,” Austin pointed out.
He said the process of improving water quality to all customers is ongoing and continues to progress with the establishment of iron removal facilities at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice; Queenstown, East Berbice; Central Ruimveldt and  Sophia, in Georgetown; Vergenoegen, East bank Essequibo and, most recently, Lima, on the Essequibo Coast.
Austin encouraged customers experiencing bad water quality to contact the GWI Call Centre or post on the wall of their Facebook page available at www.facebook.com/everydropcounts
“We remain firm in our commitment to resolve all water quality issues affecting our customers,” he stated.