Dear Editor,
Guyana Water Inc. wishes to respond to the letter by Mr. Ashton Simon, titled “Prolonged water woes at two West Coast Villages” dated February 7, 2007.
The writer claimed “the pump at Meten-Meer-Zorg has been unserviceable for the longest while and no effort is being made to fix it”. This statement is erroneous.
The Company has been making every effort to rectify the inoperable Meten-Meer-Zorg well, which malfunctioned due to old age. This operation suffered a severe delay on December 6, 2006 when there was a structural failure at the well due to damaged well casings. To avoid a similar occurrence at the La Grange well, which was being constructed with similar fiberglass casing, GWI procured new casings for both wells.
Unfortunately, the operation suffered another significant delay when the well casings were damaged while being shipped to Guyana. To avoid further delay, the Company has procured new materials for both wells. Upon receipt of the new materials, the Company will resume construction immediately and inform all affected customers. An investigation into the cause of damage to the materials has been launched. All affected customers were informed of this occurrence by way of customer letters sent through the Public Relations Department.
The Company has made the construction of these new wells a significant priority with teams working around the clock to procure the new well casings in the shortest time possible. Customers of Meten-Meer-Zorg, La Grange and all other affected areas will be informed of every stage of progress.
Further, the writer indicated that the tractor, which has been contracted to provide water by way of black tanks to affected residents, delivers once or twice a week. Manager of our West Coast division, Mr. Dwayne Younge, has launched an immediate investigation into this claim, since water should be provided to affected customers every other day. If this is found to be true, it will be rectified swiftly as the Company is seeking to provide the affected areas with additional water-supplying tractors. Customers are also urged to obtain larger storage containers in order to store sufficient water. Contracted workers have observed that most customers rely on buckets which later prove to be inadequate.
Again, GWI would like to assure all affected customers that the restoration of normal water supply to these communities is a primary focus. Our teams are working 24 hours a day, every day of the week to correct this situation as our customers deserve no less.
Yours faithfully,
Timothy Austin
Public Relations Officer – Guyana Water
Inc.
