The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) says it has observed several acts of trespassing at its Central Ruimveldt Water Treatment Plant compound and advised persons to desist as the area is fraught with hidden dangers.

“Residents were warned of all the dangers,” Project Manager Ramchand Jailall said.

“We have installed warning signs in several locations including the perimeter fence which continues to be recklessly destroyed by youths attempting to gain entry,” he said in a GWI press statement.

GWI said it has observed that youths of the Central Ruimveldt community continue to destroy portions of the fence surrounding the facility in order to gain access.

Eyewitnesses have also reported that young children have been observed cycling and performing stunts in one of the facility’s most hazardous areas, the “backwash lagoon”. Jailall said “the backwash lagoon contains harsh chemicals which can cause severe harm should they come in contact with human skin.”

He said the GWI team including the project contractor have made numerous appeals to residents to guard against young children entering its compound as, the “backwash lagoon” which attracts most of the attention by trespassers, is highly dangerous. “In addition to containing harmful chemicals, the lagoon is 19 feet deep, and should a child fall, this could most certainly lead to death,” Jailall said.