RESIDENTS of Prospect Housing Development, East Bank Demerara can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has delivered potable water to the community.

This is in keeping with a commitment made by Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, during a visit to the community two weeks ago.

The provision of water supply to the community, which consists approximately 90 households, was realised through the connection of transmission pipelines to the Covent Garden water supply system.

In order to benefit from the water supply, residents are required to apply for their individual service connections, upon which time the installation will occur.
Minister Rodrigues revisited the community on Thursday where a GWI East Bank team was working to conduct on-site applications and the installation of service connections simultaneously.

“To facilitate the process, we thought instead of having these persons go to the office, we brought the office and we brought the service to the community,” Minister Rodrigues noted.
This intervention will see residents benefitting from water supply at a stand pipe level as a short-term solution. Minister Rodrigues reiterated however, that the community will have its own well within the coming months to further improve the water situation in the area.

Residents eagerly completed the application process and were elated to finally receive water through their taps.
One such resident was Tricia Williams, who said she has been residing in the area for two months and the provision of water is of great benefit. She noted that in the past she walked two streets to fetch water and had to make several trips in order to fill her barrel. Otherwise, she depended on the rain.
Sharon King-Harris related that she has been residing in the community since July 2019 and was accessing water from the back of her house. This, she said, was challenging due to the dangers posed by high vegetation.

Another resident said that she had, for over a year, delayed moving into her house due to the absence of a water supply. She said that she is now relieved that her water fetching days are over due to this timely intervention.