For the first time in over 30 years, residents of Pattenson, North Sophia, are being supplied with potable water.
In a statement, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) said it is installing over 10 stand-pipes in the community as part of what new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Richard Van West-Charles says is a medium-term plan to supply residents.
“We envision that every resident of Sophia will have access to their own water service connection in the future. Our priority is to provide service immediately and bring relief to residents who have been without water for more than 30 years, which is entirely unacceptable,” he said during an inspection of the works being undertaken by GWI’s Operations Team on Thursday.
He assured that the project is temporary and that GWI will be exploring the installation of individual water service connections to homes within Sophia.
Without a supply of potable water, residents were forced to traverse long distances to obtain water for domestic purposes.
According to GWI, residents commended GWI for providing relief. They noted that the stand-pipes were installed directly in front of their homes, which would alleviate the physical and financial burden of buying water or travelling long distances to obtain a few buckets of water.
Van West-Charles, GWI said, charged the residents with maintaining the stand-pipes and protecting the infrastructure from vandalism. “The infrastructure belongs to the residents of Sophia,” he was quoted as saying. “We implore that users maintain the integrity of the infrastructure as we seek to establish a long-term plan for providing water to North Sophia,” he added.
