With the ultimate goal of providing 100 per cent water coverage for Amerindian Villages across the county, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) will utilise new water sources found in hinterland regions.
Upon approval of these projects, residents will have access to water systems that are treated and of good quality in 2023, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaik Baksh said on Tuesday.
Baksh said the new water sources were found in the townships at Mabaruma, Santa Rosa, Port Kaituma (Region One); Five to Seven Miles, Bartica (Region Seven); Salboura creek, Mahdia (Region Eight); and Lethem (Region Nine).
He explained that the hinterland regions have an advantage of access to better quality water because the aquafa system is different from that on the coast. But he added that it will require huge investments to extend and expand water treatment to the hinterland townships.
“We want to extend and expand water treatment to the hinterland townships…We have developed a proposal to do so. Our goal is to achieve 100 per cent access to water to hinterland communities and we are moving in that direction. We will be drilling over 30 new wells in the hinterlands,” Baksh said.
At Bartica, the water system is supplied from the Mazaruni River but Baksh explained that the hope is to move to the new water source this year.
“During the course of this year, we intend to exploit that source at the five miles creek to be able to provide the people of Bartica with a better quality of water because right now they are getting water from the Mazaruni River.
“We are hoping to move that source of supply from that Mazaruni River to this very good source that we have identified,” the CEO said.
Another new water source found is at Linden and it will allow the company to stop using the Demerara River. This supply will benefit residents at West Watooka, Wismar and surrounding areas and it will be more cost effective than using a chemical treatment for the polluted river water.
“Residents at West Watooka, Wismar and surrounding areas are receiving water from the Demerara River [but] that water is becoming more and more polluted. It is a huge cost for chemical treatment and we have now identified a source at what we call West Watooka conservancy. It is very good with a minimum of treatment only,” Baksh clarified.
Some $1.5 billion has been injected into the hinterland water programme since August 2020. This money has resulted in the drilling of new well systems and upgrades to existing systems in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
