Over 20,000 residents on the West Coast of Demerara are now benefitting from an improved water supply with the construction of a billion-dollar Water Treatment plant at Uitvlugt.
The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) on Saturday commissioned the facility which was constructed at the cost of GYD$1, 281,097, 440 by Sinohydro Corporation Limited.
It is providing residents of the following areas with 24 hours access to treated water: Hague back, Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina, Leonora, Stewartville, Uitvlugt, Zeeburg, De Willem, Meten-meer-zorg and De Kinderen.
The project was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union (EU) and its beneficiaries are receiving improved water quality, quantity and continuity of service. This includes schools and health facilities.
Delivering feature remarks at the commissioning ceremony, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Lt. Col. (Ret’) Joseph Harmon declared that GWI has been on a trail-blazing expedition in Guyana.
He said that the company is paying attention to even the smallest man irrespective of where they live and its efforts are in keeping with President Granger’s mandate with regard to every Guyanese enjoying the same quality of life.
GWI, he said, has taken this mandate seriously and he took the opportunity to congratulate the company.
The Director-General said that he hails from Region 3 and therefore any improvement to the quality of life for the people of that region is something which he shares. He pointed out that access to a good quality of water is a right and not a privilege.
GWI’s Managing Director, Dr Richard Van West Charles has long said that the company is confident that it will achieve clean water for all by 2025, five years earlier than stated in Sustainable Development goal number 6.
Harmon said that the pace at which GWI is going, that goal will indeed be reached five years early.
He expressed gratitude on behalf of the residents of region 3 to the board of directors, management and staff of GWI for the new facility. The Director-General assured that the Government is committed to continuing to provide Guyanese with the good life.
Dr. Richard Van West-Charles in his remarks explained that the treatment facility is a component of the larger programme of Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure Improvement.
According to him, GWI has already begun to see many benefits in terms of the varying components of the programme. These include metering which has led to more efficient use of water as well as a significant improvement in the level of service provided to residents in the areas which the 3 plants serve.
Turning his attention to water quality, the managing director declared that the residents served by the Uitvlugt facility no longer have to purchase bottled water, since the water provided by the plant is safe for human consumption.
Dr. Van West-Charles said that GWI is putting water quality at the centre of what the company does even as he alluded to other projects in the region which have been completed and are to come.
He also pointed out that it is important for residents to work with the company by reporting leaks since these can compromise water quality. Collaboration in this regard, he said, is also expected at the level of the Regional and Neighbourhood democratic councils. The company, he also highlighted, is seeking to ensure that all schools and health facilities have optimum water service.
The managing director told residents that the treatment plant is for them and its product has no brand but a Guyanese citizen brand.
He expressed gratitude to the plant’s contractor for completing the project on time and for their cooperation. He also thanked the GWI team as he urged the workers to care for the plant as they monitor it on a 24/7 basis. (Extracted and modified from GWI)
