Dear Editor,
It was with deep consternation that I read in the June 2 edition of SN, Water Minister Irfaan Ali’s statement, “that despite the discovery of dead fish, the water in the Lamaha Canal is safe.”
I live about a ¼ mile (as the crow flies) from GWI’s treatment facilities at the Shelter Belt and from which I receive piped ‘potable’ water.
Yesterday I had to clean my 400 gallon back-up reservoir and the suspended particles and discoloration of the water inside the vessel suggests that it is of questionable quality and the coagulation and flocculation system to completely envelop suspended particles in the water for their removability by sedimentation and filtration is not working. Similarly also GWI’s mechanism for dispensing the aluminum sulphate/lime to get rid of the dark colour in the water seems to be out of order. I cannot say for certain if chlorine was being added to the drinking water to disinfect it before release, as it was devoid of the residual smell in my case. The Minister stated that several tests have been conducted but no discovery of any form of contamination has been found in the water supply, despite the fact that fish continue to die.
Water polluted from toxic agricultural chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, weedicides, fertilizers), industrial and municipal pollutants wastes require complex analytical techniques to trace their presence, and GWI should assure water users that it has the equipment and skilled staff capability to carry out the necessary tests to find any kind of contaminant in the city’s water supply, as the evidence suggests that GWI’s track record of providing water safe for human consumption leaves much to be desired.
Water users want to know about the detailed investigations being conducted, how urgently these are being done and when some answers will be forthcoming to assure them of their safety.
As reported, it is puzzling that the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), GWI’s major water source is releasing water through its Kofi Sluice to ‘freshen’ the water in that location when the purpose of this structure is to relieve flood water from the conservancy. It may well be that EDWC in collaboration with GWI is flushing out those spin-off water stench bacteria caused by the lack of rainfall during the period of El Nino, as well as those yet-to-be-determined harmful contaminants killing the fish in its waterway.
Finally, it is incumbent on GWI to issue statements on this incident, as development towards its investigation and eventual resolution unfolds. It’s a duty it owes its customers.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan