-to facilitate proper disposal of sewage

Minister Ali, at right, IDB country representative Marco Nicola, third from right, GWI’s Sanitation Manager Rensford Joseph, at left, and General Secretary Guyana Rice Producers Association Dharamkumar Seeraj tour the new Tucville facility.

Government continues to consolidate its efforts to ensure that major interventions are provided to improve the lives of its citizens. To this end an $83M septage receiving station located at Arapaima Street, Tucville, was commissioned Monday by Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali to facilitate the proper disposal of sewage in the Tucville and Stevedore housing areas.

The new facility which was completed by Correia and Correia Limited will receive sludge from privately operated waste disposal tankers, fostering public/private Partnership Company while promoting proper hygiene practices and reducing water borne diseases in communities.

It will also collect sludge from septic tanks in Greater Georgetown and Tucville which will be disposed of at the new facility. The sludge will then be pumped through a 200mm sewer line that was also recently constructed to link the Tucville facility to the Georgetown sewerage system at the junction of Brickdam and Winter Place.

Minister Ali said when persons look at the development of the facility, one will realize the magnitude of work that was done.

He said the infrastructure has been developed with safety and the environment in mind and that persons should develop a new culture in the way they treat and look at their environment.

“If as people we cannot understand the importance of the environment, then tough laws and legislations must be implemented and people must be brought to justice because investments like these are made for the improvement of the lives of our people,” Minister Ali emphasised.

The commissioning of the facility, the Minister said, is also in recognition of five- year old, Brianna Dover who had lost her life a few years ago in the former sewer system.

A section of the gathering

“As a company and people, we must work towards providing the infrastructure to ensure safety of our citizens,” Minister Ali said.

In 2002, the Water and Sewerage Act was passed paving the way for the responsibility of the sewer system to be placed under the purview of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). A major investment portfolio of approximately $1.1B was unveiled which comprised the rehabilitation of the Tucville septic receiving station.

In addition to this project, the Minister further highlighted that approximately $40M has been spent on the construction of the force main interlinking the Tucville and Central sewer system, while $400M was spent on the construction of the new outfall in Kingston. 

The GWI is currently procuring materials for the rehabilitation of the street sewer which is estimated to cost $150M. The agency also has, at a tender stage, the rehabilitation of a sewer pumping station which will see 24 pumping stations completely rehabilitated under the existing loan from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), he said.

The investments, the Minister added, will bring not only the solutions, but relief to existing conditions.

“By no way would this site solve the sewerage system in Georgetown, we have a lot of work to do, massive infrastructure and investment is required to get to a level that we would be satisfied with and to a level at which we would be catering for future generations and future expansion of the city,” Minister Ali stated.

Meanwhile, Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Country representative Marco Nicola said the facility is a result of the commitment of the Government of Guyana to supporting the reduction of environmental degradation in Georgetown and surrounding areas, with the goal of improving the quality of life of its citizens.

He said the bank’s support to the water and sanitation sectors dates back to the early 1990s when an initial loan for remedial intervention to improve the water supply in Georgetown, valued US$13.5M, was approved and executed.

Mr. Nicola urged the GWI and other environmental agencies to ensure that there is no illegal dumping of waste in canals and open environs, adding that there is need to enforce existing legislation and improve them if necessary to ensure waste collected is disposed of at the facility.

The IDB, he emphasised, will continue to work with the Housing and Water Ministry to improve the performance of the sewerage system.

Through the allocation of approximately US$1.3M from the bank for the rehabilitation of the sewer system, the new loan will further address the cleaning, repairs and replacement of yard and street sewers. The loan will be approved in 2010 for further improvement of the sewer system, he said.

The Tucville sewerage system was first constructed in 1970 and comprises a collection of gravity sewers that drain directly to the facility.

The operation of the new system is facilitated by two submersible pumps which can either work manually or automatically. One pump will work duty and the other will be on standby. The system is equipped with four automatic sensors, three of which act as start/ stop switch and the fourth as high level alarm. 

The site is also equipped with a state-of-the-art video surveillance system which monitors visitors and the flow of traffic in and out of the compound. This system will aid in efficient security on site. (GINA)