The Guyana Water Inc (GWI) yesterday announced that it has “significantly” improved the water supply of the community of St Cuthbert’s Mission located in Region Four with the commissioning of an $8.1 million upgraded and expanded water supply system.
The upgrade, it says, will benefit some 700 residents, 300 of whom are receiving potable water for the first time. Nursery, primary and secondary schools, the health centre, and teachers’ quarters are also among the beneficiaries of this project.
The project was executed by GWI’s in-house staff and the village council, while a local contractor was used to refurbish a metal trestle. Works included the upgrading of the distribution system, trestle rehabilitation, leak repair, well head rehabilitation and discharge, and the installation of new service connections.
The new water supply system is the result of a commitment made to the community by Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues who commissioned the system yesterday.
In her remarks at the ceremony, which was hosted at the St Cuthbert’s Mission Primary School, Rodrigues said that 90 per cent of the community is now benefitting from the upgraded water supply system. Before the upgrade, only 35 per cent were being served. Also the system now has the capacity to serve twice as many residents than it is currently serving. She pointed out that the system was in dire need of an upgrade which had not been done in several years.
The minister also stressed the importance of ensuring that residents are satisfied with the service they are receiving and that maximum service is achieved from the project. The residents were assured that no effort will be spared in this regard. She cautioned however, that there is also a need to ensure that the system is maintained and urged the Village Council to take ownership of it.
Rodrigues also announced that before the end of 2021, five new wells will be drilled along the Linden/Soesdyke highway in the communities of Swan, Kuru Kuru, Kairuni, Long Creek, and Moblissa.
She also expressed gratitude to the GWI technical team for their execution of the project as well as the community members for their cooperation.
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Water, Andre Ally, disclosed that in 2021, a programme of $344 million is being executed in the hinterland regions (One, Seven, Eight and Nine) to provide potable water to communities there. This includes the drilling of new wells, the upgrading of water supply systems, and the installation of photovoltaic systems.
Ally posited that Guyana is edging closer to realising the goal of equal access to potable water in the hinterland as on the coastland. He said that the Ministry and by extension GWI has been delivering and will continue to deliver in this area.
And Executive Director of Hinterland Services of GWI, Ramchand Jailal, in his remarks assured that the water produced by the well is safe for consumption and no additional treatment is needed. He informed that community representatives will be trained in the operation and maintenance of the system, including solar power and water quality.
Jailal echoed the minister’s urging that the community maintains the system and suggested that a water committee be established by the Village Council to have oversight.
There still remain approximately 30 households on the outskirts of the village without water access and GWI will be working closely with the village council to ensure that these residents also gain access, the release added.
