GWI stepping up efforts to replace century-old pipelines in the city

Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has said it will intensify efforts this year to replace water transmission lines in the city; it said the lines are over 100 years old.

This is according to GWI’s Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh. On Sunday, he visited the site of a breakage in the vicinity of the Bank of Guyana.

GWI, in a statement, noted that over the last few months there have been several breakages within the same area and water spewing out causes damage to the roads in the area.

Mr Baksh noted that while there have been temporary fixes, what is needed is the total replacement of these cast iron mains. This, GWI noted, is very costly and cannot be done just over a one-year period.

But GWI stated that with financial support from the government, the replacement of the transmission mains has begun and is ongoing at the Lamaha Street Shelterbelt and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2021.

The CEO said the replacement of these mains is high on GWI’s agenda and three such projects have been catered for in the 2021 budget.

This includes the replacement of transmission mains from Shelterbelt to Church Street, which will lead to Water Street, Shelterbelt through Cemetery road and Shelterbelt to Cummings Street. The company is also hoping to secure funding for the replacement of mains from Cummings Street to Water Street.

The replacement of the aged mains also form part of GWI’s five-year Strategic Plan for 2021-2025.