It’s quite paradoxical that Guyana—the Land of Many Waters—is suffering tremendously at this time as a result of a prolonged drought which has crippled the supply of drinking and potable water available to consumers of the Guyana Water Incorporated. I listen to my friends in Georgetown who tell me that the water went off for the entire day and they are worried because they do not know what they will do. We here in the country areas are still receiving our full supply of water per day, though GWI is silent on whether or not the bore-hole wells would be affected by the drought. But it was a mariner by the name of Taylor Coleridge, some 200 years or so ago, who wrote:
“Water, water everywhere,
Nor a drop to drink”.
Guyana is fortified with a plethora of lakes, rivers, waterfalls and rapids in ever square inch of this great land. There is so much water around us. So, instead of crying out that the water levels in the conservancies are getting lower, why don’t the authorities invest once and for all in a desalinization plant? Desalinization has been one of the oldest practices by man, who converted sea water to drinkable water. That was what the ancient sailors did. Today, this scientific process has come to the rescue of many dry and parched regions of the world, especially those countries who have prudently worked out a practical plan to counter the effects of periods like which Guyana is facing at the moment. Had we established a desalinization plant, the El Nino phenomenon could not have made any impact whatsoever on our country’s water supplies. Farmers and residents across Guyana would continue to access potable water for agriculture and drinking purposes day in and day out.
Today, more and more countries are turning to this process in the face of droughts and water shortages. It may be a relative costly initiative but think about how much money is spent on a daily basis to pump water into agricultural areas and how many city and town residents are feeling the squeeze. Plus, surely when our politicians are getting close to a million dollars per month on salaries, and foreign trips are akin to a trip to one of our towns in Guyana, money is definitely not an issue.
Times like these would not even be an issue. With the vast Atlantic Ocean and mighty rivers at our disposal, it doesn’t take rocket science to figure a way out of this mess we are in today.
Our Caribbean sister-island Trinidad has one of the largest desalinization plants in the Americas and has been using same to free up the island’s water supply for human consumption. When will our leaders think outside the box for a change? Some of us are so engrossed in our sufferings, like this current drought, that we are not thinking straight and rationally. Maybe the government can ask the Iranians to help construct a desalinization plant.
Guyana receives a vast supply of sunlight and heat energy on a daily basis from our daytime star, the sun. Yet, up to this point, we cannot have an established solar powered generating facility. We are also a unique nation with a tangible supply of breeze and wind coming out of the North East. I have traveled to other territories and have realized that those places are not as windy and breezy like my home. But still, nobody or government seem to be harnessing these valuable, environmentally friendly and cheap forms of energy. How long would we wait for hydro power? The spiraling costs of electricity in this country have taken a huge toll on the prices of products in the market today. Products which require the use of electricity for production, like ice-cream, soft drinks, ice, etc, etc have attached to them very high prices in the shops and supermarkets. Guyanese carry a very high burden in their pockets paying for the high costs of electricity everyday. It all boils down to the cost of electricity. When we will get it right is anybody’s guess.
Yours faithfully,
Leon J Suseran
