Despite a recent chilling experience which saw residents of Buxton torching a Guyana Water Incorporated [GWI] vehicle while works were being carried out, the community has not been neglected.
In fact based on information released by GWI, residents of Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara will soon benefit from improved water quality as the company works to have the treatment plant in the community back in operation by the end of 2018.
This announcement was made by the utility’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles on Saturday, April 21, during an outreach in the community.
Additionally, eight filters have already been imported and will be installed at the treatment plant within a matter of weeks. An overhead tank has also been activated in the community and GWI will be working to fill that tank, which will then be used to pressurize the system.
Buxton has benefited from increased hours of service and GWI will be working to further increase it to 24 hours by the end of 2018. The utility will also be working to clean the pipelines, which it has not managed to do consistently due to the intermittent supply of water in the past.
These improvement plans for Buxton were outlined even as the Managing Director pointed out that the community had been neglected and even punished in years gone by.
GWI officials during the recent outreach.
He said that companies such as GWI have to operate in accordance with the constitution and ensure that all citizens have access to good quality services.
Dr. Van West-Charles took the opportunity to urge residents of Buxton to have their service regularised. He announced that over the next two months, they will be able to visit GWI’s office to have their service regularised and no court action will be taken against them. However, if after the two month period, residents are found with illegal connections, GWI will be moving swiftly to the courts.
Meanwhile, GWI’s Executive Director of Operations, Mr. Dwayne Shako pointed out that the water distribution system needs to be addressed before the utility addresses water treatment.
He informed that currently, 300 cubic meters of water is being produced in the community every hour. However, despite this large quantity, residents are still unable to receive 24 hours supply and receive such to the top floor of their homes.
This is due to the fact that a large quantity of the water being produced is being wasted. The utility will be installing meters in the community in order to tighten the system.
Even as these improvement plans were outlined, it was stressed that GWI needs the finances to conduct these works. Approximately $6M is spent on electricity alone to power the water supply system in the community.
The Buxton residents were urged to pay their bills on time. There is currently $116M in debt in the community, with $89M of that debt belonging to unmetered customers.
