THE Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) has procured a brand new Hi-vac, truck-mounted vacuum cleaner through a $72M loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to be used to clear wet wells (sewerage facilities) in the city.

GWI Director of Procurement, Aubrey Roberts, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the equipment will remove blockages from the 22 wet wells the GWI has in Georgetown, since the GWI had previously been forced to rent equipment in this regard.
He added that the Hi-vac will significantly reduce GWI’s equipment rental costs from Cevon’s and Puran Brothers Waste Disposal Services.
Roberts said that a three-day training programme currently ongoing will train staffers in operating and maintaining the Hi-vac cleaner, but citizens should nevertheless properly dispose of their garbage, and should also desist from throwing solids such as needles, sponges, clothing, cement blocks, condoms, etc., into the sewerage facilities in Georgetown.
Roberts said the solids that people throw into the wet wells can damage GWI’s equipment and pipes, and pose health hazards to citizens.
He urged all citizens to stop abusing the sewerage system.
Explaining that the Hi-vac can also be used to suck up matter from disposal facilities, Roberts encouraged proprietors of the hotel industry to properly dispose of condoms, not allowing patrons to flush those down the toilets, since they create blockages in the chambers, and eventual overflows in the sewerage facilities.

The brand new Hi-vac, truck mounted vacuum cleaner.

Roberts noted that the onus is once again on hotels in the city to ensure that condoms are correctly disposed of.
He said the brand new Hi-vac is American made, but a representative from Venezuela is here to train GWI employees on its use.
According to GWI’s Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh, the investment is meant to alleviate instances of sewage overflows in the capital city.
“This investment forms a critical part of the Georgetown Sewerage Rehabilitation Programme,” Baksh said. “It will assist with the servicing and maintenance of the existing infrastructure. Indeed, this was a timely investment by the government, and our appreciation is extended to the IDB for their partnership on this programme.”
The Gy$72 million tanker, according to GWI’s Director of Procurement, Aubrey Roberts, “is equipped with a vacuum pump and jetter to remove blockages which result in sewage overflows. Indeed, this new asset will significantly assist our sanitation team in maintaining a fully operational sewerage system.”
Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of GWI, Mr. Shaik Baksh, however warned that, despite the company acquiring the new asset, customers must continue to refrain from abusing the system. Appealing to all users of the sewerage system, Baksh said “no obstacles must be dumped into the system”.
According to him, GWI’s sanitation team continues to uncover clothing items, cement blocks, old vehicle parts, and numerous unwanted objects in the system. This practice by customers, he said, will hamper the efficient operation of the system, which will result in unhygienic overflows.
“I urge every customer to appreciate that the system is vital for the hygiene and sanitation of the city, and (it) should not be abused,” Baksh urged.
Meanwhile, in an earlier press statement, GWI had spoken of discovering in excess of 3,000 used condoms causing a massive blockage at the corner of Sixth and Light Streets, Alberttown, on Wednesday, August 31.
Responding to several complaints of sewage overflows in Alberttown, GWI’s sanitation team had discovered an overflowing manhole at Albert Street.  “The sewage was practically gushing,” Sanitation Supervisor Wayne Langford had said.
“Immediately, we noticed a number of articles, including clothes, concrete and a significant amount of condoms, amongst the sewage,” Langford stated.
GWI was then required to conduct a lengthy exercise to locate the source of the blockage underground, and Langford had said: “We were fortunate enough to locate the huge blockage below Sixth and Light Streets before sunset. It was then that we noticed an enormous amount of condoms which clogged the system and affected the operations of the sensitive devices used to pump the sewage out of the city.”
Supervisor Langford revealed that the removal of the blockage required more than two hours of work by GWI’s sanitation team. “The debris was so large in number that the entire team was called in to remove the massive amount of condoms – my team counted over 3000,” Langford stated. “Even the residents looking on were stunned to see the amount of condoms found in the blockage. This situation is unacceptable since we have been appealing to residents to desist from flushing anything but human waste through their toilets.”
He explained that it was a common occurrence to find large numbers of condoms at city hotels which experience sewage overflows. However, the amount (over 3000) of condoms found at the Sixth and Light Street blockage is the largest on record.
Langford explained that the overflows which resulted from consistently flushing condoms had affected a pregnant woman in Albert Street, causing her to become ill. Several elderly persons and children were also affected by the unhygienic conditions.
Via its weekly television broadcast, radio advisories and community outreach programmes, GWI has consistently educated Georgetown residents about the damage caused by dumping garbage into the sewerage system. However, the number of overflows has recently exacerbated the situation; and according to senior GWI official Nigel Niles, the entity will take legal action against all customers found guilty of dumping garbage into the sewerage system.
“Overflows caused by flushing condoms occur weekly,” he had stated. “This is a situation we will not tolerate, since it calls for basic decency and hygiene. The Water and Sewerage Act, 2002 allows for GWI to prosecute any customer abusing the sanitation system, and GWI will take legal action if customers do not heed our warnings,” he added.