– to benefit 30,000 persons

WORKS to a water treatment plant at Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara, which will benefit some 30,000 persons, are 75 per cent completed.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, and a team from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) along with Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) officials, visited the Diamond Water Treatment Plant on Friday. The plant will have a capacity to serve 30,000 residents and will have positive impacts on the non-revenue water, the issue of metering, and most importantly energy efficiency, the DPI said.
Minister Bulkan praised the IDB-funded project as “the largest investment in the water sector.” The minister also placed major emphasis on the need for potable water and re-emphasised the coalition government’s commitment to that provision.
“It is well accepted that apart from a roof over our heads, the provision of pure water is one of the basic requirements and necessities for dignified living. So, in this regard, this administration is resolutely committed to providing this vital ingredient… for human life and existence,” Minister Bulkan reiterated.

Meanwhile, one of IDB’s Executive Directors, Selwin Hart, lauded the IDB projects that the Government of Guyana has executed. “We have seen really great IDB projects [like] the Hinterland Housing Project, where water harvesting is an essential component of that project,” the IDB Executive Director said. According to Executive Director Hart, the purpose of the IDB team’s visit was to listen, learn and understand the context of Guyana’s development, and to gain insight into the challenges and opportunities in Guyana.

In the original design of the plant, it was intended for water to be taken from both surface and ground. Managing Director, Dr Richard Van West-Charles, explained that there was a deviation from this design since water is primarily sourced from the ground. The GWI director also noted that this decision will lead to massive savings.

“As a result, it is contributing to a savings of approximately $25M per annum due to a reduction in the need to import chemicals for the treatment process,” the managing director said. This will also contribute to approximately $1.2M in energy savings per month.
The GWI head also touched on plans to enhance services in the hinterland region. “The Ministry of Communities and GWI are seeking to move aggressively to look at the issue of access in the hinterland communities… and the impact of climate change affecting those communities”, the managing director declared.

In this regard, the managing director acknowledged that more needs to be done in relation to servicing many areas throughout Guyana. Dr Van West-Charles said, “we are working feverishly to look at other supports in the area of water supply [and] water safety for our different populations across the coast and in the hinterland”.

The Diamond Water Treatment Plant is part of three similar plants that is made possible through the partnership and collaboration between the Government of Guyana, IDB, and the European Union. The plants are located in Region Six, Region Three and at Diamond. Their construction/installation has a total cost of $6.6B.

The water treatment plants allow the coalition government to work towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number six which aims to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
Meanwhile, residents of the area have spoken positively about the project’s fruition.
“It gonna benefit [me] because I tell you the truth, the water does come really dirty and it don’t filter to good purity, you know? Yea, it gonna benefit man,” local taxi driver at Diamond Car Park, Parsram Ramchan, told the DPI.

Another resident of Diamond, Vanessa Arjoon, a vendor, expressed “we gonna be at a better standard of the water and that is good because right now I buy bottle water. So, if the standard improved better than what it is now, I won’t have to buy water.”
Construction works for all three water treatment plants are scheduled to conclude in December of this year.