Broken main leaves Cummings Lodge, Turkeyen without water

-suspends UG operations

Thousands of residents were left without running water after a water main was broken during clean up works behind the CARICOM headquarters, at Liliendaal, on Monday.

The situation forced the suspension of operations at the University of Guyana’s (UG) Turkeyen campus yesterday while Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) repair crews worked to restore normal service to the affected areas. UG Registrar Vincent Alexander last evening issued an advisory to staff and students that operations at the campus would resume today.

GWI, in a press statement yesterday, explained that the central supply main was damaged when infrastructural works were being conducted by another entity. Stabroek News has learnt that the water main was damaged while officials from the Ministry of Agriculture were cleaning a trench behind the CARICOM headquarters. “GWI repair crews are working in the swiftest manner possible to repair the water main and provide relief to affected customers,” the utility company said. GWI also apologised for any inconvenience caused by the service disruption and assured customers that all necessary action is being taken to return normal service.

Customers wishing to receive updates on the situation can contact GWI’s Customer Services Call Centre on 227-8701 or receive updates by e-mailing customercallcentre@ gwi.gy or via the Company’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/everydropcounts.

GWI’s public relations officer Timothy Austin, when contacted around 4:30 yesterday afternoon, said that the problem had not yet been rectified but a team was still working to restore water supply by nightfall.

Austin said that residents of the affected areas were out of water about three weeks ago after one of the wells that supplied them was damaged. Residents subsequently began receiving water from a smaller well and while they were getting a supply, it was not what they were accustomed to, he noted.

Yesterday, he gave assurances that the water supply in that area would be boosted later this year when a well will be drilled in Cummings Lodge. Austin said that the well will have the capacity to serve all the residents of Cummings Lodge, Turkeyen and Sophia adequately. He added that at the moment they are focusing on the new well and not on repairing the damaged one.

Suspended operations

In a news release, Alexander advised university staff and students to report to campus today. It was noted that the operations had been halted yesterday because of the unavailability of potable water on campus, caused by the malfunctioning wells and breakage of mains in the Turkeyen area. Director of Estates Ronald Rajnarine was, however, quoted in the release as saying that water was flowing through the mains after extensive work carried out by GWI.

The release noted that yesterday’s temporary closure affected more than 500 employees and approximately 3,000 students.

Speaking to Stabroek News earlier, UG’s information officer Paulette Paul said that classes had been suspended since there was no potable water on the campus. She explained that while arrangements were made to bring water to the campus to address the situation, they were unsuccessful and the toilets started “backing up.”

University students were met with a stench emanating from the toilets at the Turkeyen campus when they turned up for classes yesterday. A communications major told this newspaper that she was told by the secretary in the Communications Division that there were no classes because the toilets were filthy and smelly. Another student, an economics major, turned up for class yesterday morning and the lecturer told her that he was not teaching because of the deplorable condition.