RESIDENTS of Westminster, Pouderoyen, and Vergenoegen are expected to benefit from increased access to quality water as the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) prepares to commence the construction of new wells in those areas.
This was according to the Ministry of Finance’s 2017 Mid-year report which was laid in the National Assembly on Friday last by Finance Minister Winston Jordan.
The construction of those wells is being succeeded by one which is currently being done in Diamond. That well is scheduled to be completed later this year.

But increasing access to quality water is not a priority for only the coastland. In fact, GWI has indicated that hinterland regions will also benefit from improved access before the end of this year.
It was stated in the Mid-Year Report that works on new water systems are already under way in Matthew’s Ridge, Yarakita, and Tassarene, while the installation of a water supply system at Chenapau is expected to commence and be completed in the second half of this year.

Farther down the coast, to New Amsterdam, assessments of existing infrastructure are also being conducted and according to GWI, these will guide the decision to upgrade or construct a new well at New Amsterdam.
It was noted too that the quality of water supplied to that town is also expected to improve before the end of the year, with works already commencing at the New Amsterdam Water Treatment Plant to install filters and aerators. Those works are expected to be completed by the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year.

In addition, it was highlighted that improvements to quality-assurance systems have started with construction of a mini-laboratory at the Eccles Water Treatment Plant. That, according to the report ,is scheduled to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year.
The report also stated that under the Non-Revenue Water Reduction Programme, the Government is planning to transition to smart metering to enhanced security and reporting.
The report explains that this will be facilitated through the installation of an advanced and improved Customer Management Information and Billing Software.

Also, the metering initiative resulted in 10,000 new meters being installed in the first half and this is expected to be doubled by the end of 2017.
During the first half of 2017, Government expended $463M of the budgeted $2.8B towards improving access to potable water countrywide.