PROTECTION of the population’s health is not limited to the Public Health Ministry but extends to citizens who need to adjust their behavioural patterns, Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Richard Van-West Charles has said.

The CEO was at the time addressing engineers and other participants at the opening of phase (one) of a five-day Biological Wastewater training programme being executed by GWI. Upon completion, participants are expected to be able to analyse and assess the characteristics of wastewater originating from urban environments as a basis for the design, operation and control of wastewater treatment facilities.

GWI has announced that it is moving in the direction of treating wastewater through the implementation of various technologies. Therefore, as part of its efforts to explore the ways and means through which this can be done, the agency on Monday launched the programme.

Wastewater is water which has been contaminated with waste material from industrial and domestic activities. As such, the principal objective of wastewater treatment is generally to allow human and industrial effluents to be disposed of without danger to human health or unacceptable damage to the natural environment.

The biological treatment of water is a secondary treatment using a wide variety of micro-organisms, primarily bacteria. These micro-organisms convert biodegradable organic matter contained in wastewater into simple substances and additional biomass. And having announced that GWI is moving in the direction of treating wastewater, Dr. Van West-Charles revealed that GWI is aiming to discontinue the disposal of untreated wastewater into the Atlantic Ocean by the end of 2017.

He also pointed to the need for the redesign and in some cases, the replacement of septic tanks with wastewater treatment plants. Additionally, old sewerage systems are expected to be replaced by using new technologies that are unique to both rural and urban communities.

However, Associate Professor of Wastewater Treatment Technology at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Dr. Carlos M. López Vázquez noted that while all technologies might be considered useful, it is determining which applies to the specific situation that counts.

He advised that the chosen technologies must outline what wastewater is and how to remove the contaminants in it. And with GWI’s agenda already crafted, the Biological Wastewater training was therefore introduced as the first component of the exercise, which Dr. Van West-Charles said will help to guide agencies to determine the best option for treating wastewater in Guyana.

But in addition to these efforts, he underscored the role of ordinary citizens in the safeguarding and protecting the nation’s health.

According to the CEO, the move to treat wastewater comes with the need for behavioural change among citizens. To support this, he highlighted the need for better disposal of medical waste and educational programmes in schools on proper waste disposal.
“We have a great challenge in terms of trying to safeguard and protect the population’s health and it is with this in mind that we are conducting this training but this is not the end. This has to continue with respect to water and wastewater… and next month we’ll be doing some work in terms of trying to lift the capacity of staff with respect to conducting research and that is critical if we are going to up our game”, Dr. Van West-Charles told the participants.

Offering brief comments too, was GWI’s Executive Director of Operations, Dwayne Shako who stressed the need for engineers to practically apply the knowledge they would have gained, in order to fulfill the vision set out to be achieved.

Weighing in also was Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Dawn Hastings-Williams, who contended that Guyana has been struggling for too long with water resource management. As such, she offered that the time has come for systems to be implemented to safeguard the country’s water resources against future conditions such as climate change.

She also alluded to the need for ensuring water security in areas where streams are unpolluted and untapped, while urging participants to capitalise on the experience and knowledge offered during the training.

The Biological Wastewater training programme is a collaborative effort among GWI, the Ministry of Communities, UNESCO-IHE (Delft) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), which will continue for the next two days. Other participating agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency; the University of Guyana; the Mayor and City Council, as well as the Central Housing and Planning Authority.