OVER 300 residents of Karrau, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), will now be able to access potable water, as their long-awaited wish came true when the Guyana Water Corporation (GWI) commissioned a water well worth $10 million on Saturday.
The villagers cheered and rejoiced as Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, GWI, regional and village officials did the ceremonious cutting of the ribbon to declare the well open for public use.

In the eyes of many, their well might seem meagre, but to the villagers the achievement was deemed historic, given that for as long as the elders of Karrau can remember, their main water supply, a nearby creek, has been contaminated by residue, debris and even chemicals from constant mining activities in the area.

And though the phenomenon which burdened the villagers could not be stopped, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, indicated that GWI worked collaboratively with the Karrau and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Seven to derive an alternative solution, which would result in betterment for the villagers.
The end result of their combined thoughts was the well which is solar- powered and networked to every household, the school and health centre in the village.
“We are looking to bridge the inequities in the system by ensuring that all regions, including those in the hinterland, receive potable water,” said Dr. Charles.

His notion was reflected in remarks made by Region Seven’s Regional Chairman, Gordon Bradford, who outlined that this is just another step to build a foundation, so that the youngsters can grow in a clean environment.
‘Clean environment’ being words which were forgotten by the villagers, said Karrau’s Toshao, Bertille Thomas.
“Since in the 1980s, we were burdened by contaminated water…and at the end of the day, the same water was used to drink and conduct routine activities,” lamented the Toshao.
But their dream of having clean water is now a reality and persons from every home is expected to make good use of the new privilege they have at hand.

However, Minister Broomes challenged the Toshao and villagers to keep their word of caring for the new well because, “We often say we don’t have this and don’t have that, so when we get these things we must decide whether we are going to break or build from here.”
And as far as building more goes, the minister pointed out that this is one completed mission, but there is a lot more development needed in order to ensure that citizens enjoy the good life.

WATER SAFETY
Dr. Charles followed up by giving the assurance that development is on GWI’s agenda, as he noted, “We are on the move to ensure that development is prevalent, so we are looking at hinterland communities that do not have access to water and ensuring that they have this necessity…this will be done, but the importance of water safety will not be forgotten, especially in the riverine areas.”

In the process of achieving their goal, he pointed out that they will soon be establishing a Water Quality Department that will conduct regular tests to ensure that the water is not just potable, but safe as well.
Work has already commenced and GWI has been working to ensure that all areas in Region Seven have access to water. Some of the villages such as Kamarang and Riverview have recently benefited from newly developed water systems but the communities, Charles said, will be monitored because the population continues to expand and so the need will be high for the water supply to be equivalent.