Guyana Water Inc (GWI) yesterday commissioned two recently acquired drilling rigs, which the company’s management expects to increase the amount of water supplied on the coast and in the hinterland.
GWI Managing Director Dr. Richard Van West-Charles told a commissioning ceremony yesterday that planned drilling would lay the foundation for the utility to supply all of Central Georgetown on a 24-hour basis.
Van West-Charles said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how critical the need for water is and he said the timing of the acquisition of the drilling rigs could not have been better. He emphasised that it was good foresight on behalf of the Government of Guyana and GWI’s management and staff to see it necessary for the company to reinstate its drilling capacity.
He said the company could now drill wells in a number of regions and he mentioned regions Three, Four, Six and Ten. He said specific plans include drilling wells in Farm and Prospect, on the East Bank of Demerara, at Tuschen, on the East Bank of Essequibo, and Amelia’s Ward, in Region Ten.
Van West-Charles further related that he has no concerns about the efficiencies of the drilling rigs, which are manufactured in Brazil, and added that he has seen their output, including the drilling of wells in the hinterland within a matter of weeks.
Van West-Charles also said the company is expecting more to come in terms of the sustainability of all the wells across the country as it is expecting another piece of equipment from Holland that will provide it with even greater capacities in maintaining the 139 wells across the country, as soon as the conditions of COVID-19 are relaxed.
GWI’s Director of Operations Dwayne Shako said that it has been found that it will take up to six weeks to have a well installed. He added that as of May next year, the plan is to have eight wells drilled, starting with the well on Mandela Avenue. On the latter point he noted that it will allow GWI to supply areas such as Roxanne Burnham Gar-dens, Guyhoc and East and West Ruimveldt, which normally receive water for 12 hours, with water on a 24-hour basis.
He added that the organisation has a planned programmed ahead.
Gavin Todd, Chairman of the Water and Resources and Technical Committee of the GWI Board said the company has embarked on a number of capital projects that were based on providing safe drinking water. He added that there are programmes in place to have the water volume extracted from the ground increased, as he made mention of the increase of the 20% capacity that will be effected due to the additional drills purchased.
David Dewar, Vice Chairman of the GWI board, also spoke and he said he was delighted to be here to see “history being remade” as he reminisced on when GWI had drilling rigs many years ago. He offered his congratulations to the management of staff of the company on the acquisition, while saying that he was confident that the equipment will be put to good use.
