Eight Wells to be drilled in Region Nine

Wells will be drilled in eight villages in Region Nine to assist in the storage of water for the dry season (El Nino) through a collaboration between the Governments of Guyana and Brazil.

According to a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency, a reconnaissance will be conducted on March 19-29, 2018, and drilling will commence in October. The drilling will last for a period of 60 days.

During the drilling phase, the Brazilian Army will be working closely with the Guyana Defence Force and this collaboration will see the drilling of artesian wells in the villages of Aishalton, Chukrikednau, Shea, Maruranawa, Awarawaunau, Karaudarnau, Achiwib and Bashraidrun.

The Ministry said the first working group meeting was held today in the boardroom of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) with the Brazilian Military Attaché to Guyana, Colonel DeniDa Silva, Acting Director General of the organisation, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig and stakeholders from the Ministries of Communities, Public Health, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture as well the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

Colonel Craig explained that Rupununi is susceptible to droughts and floods so it is important to have a system under which the communities could be supplied with fresh water continuously during the year.

“Mainly, in Region Nine, the residents use hand-dug wells and you find that a couple weeks into the dry season, there is no water for them to use. Those wells are usually about 20 metres but these that will be dug later in the year will be 100 metres, which translates to about 300 feet. It is all part of us responding to the drought situation during the dry season in the region,” he was quoted as saying.

The impact of the project will be monitored by the CDC, the Ministry said.

The Complementary Agreement to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Governments of Guyana and Brazil for the Implementation of the Project Technologies to Reduce the Effects of the Drought in Region Nine of Guyana was inked during President David Granger’s State visit to Brazil in December 2017.

The Complementary Agreement states that the Government of Brazil shall undertake to “promote the transfer of Brazilian knowledge and experience related to mitigation of the effects of drought; provide the means for implementation of activities foreseen in the Project, send consultants and experts to implement activities to be carried out in Guyana, support the development of the Guyanese technical team’s capacity to drill artesian wells and monitor and evaluate Project implementation.”

Meanwhile, the Government of Guyana, as prescribed in the Agreement, shall undertake to “take responsibility for the maintenance of the artesian wells.