–with $40M well being drilled by GWI

CENTRAL Jawalla, situated just off the Kamarang River in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven area, is in line to access potable water for the first time, as the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) progresses with the drilling of a well in the villages there.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, who visited the work-site on Wednesday, said that the contract sum of $40 million caters for the initial phase of the project, which would see Central Jawalla being the beneficiary, while the remainder of the village would benefit in the next phase.

“You would recognise that there is a challenge in the hinterland. Sometimes it’s not always possible to run pipe networks to every single household, because of the geographic location where some persons live,” the minister said.

In light of this, the Housing and Water Minister said that approximately 80 service connections will be installed, at places such as the school, Village Council and the Health Centre.

Unlike Kamarang, where numerous attempts at drilling a well in the past would have failed due to uncertainty and rock formation, Minister Croal said this is a first for Jawalla. He is confident that this time around, it will be a success, since the requisite preparatory works were carried out.

Prior to the mobilisation of the drilling rig, a resistivity logging exercise was conducted to find the best suited location for the well.

Managing Director of R. Kissoon Contracting Service, Rudranauth Roopdeo said that transporting the drilling rig to the community is the biggest challenge.

He said that for communities such as Jawalla, the rig is disassembled and flown into the region, after which it traverses the river on a barge. Despite the challenges, he said the well and the distribution network would be completed by December.

Community members will be employed for the laying of the distribution pipelines, which will be done simultaneously with the drilling of the well.

The project also caters for the erection of a trestle for the storage tanks, and the installation of a photovoltaic system.

Toshao of Jawalla, Verron Henry said the villagers are anxiously awaiting the completion of the project. She said that as it is, people have to walk long distances to fetch water from the Kamarang River, which has become polluted over the years due to the gold mining activities going on in the area.