Residents of Amelia’s Ward in Linden are still complaining bitterly about the ‘water woes’ they are currently enduring.
Over the past two weeks, residents have been forced to ration water as they face a very low-pressure supply for long hours. They said the situation has worsened over that time and there has been no firm word from the Linden authorities, including the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
“I was puzzled for a couple of days when I realized that my tanks were empty and it aint getting to full back,” said one resident. She said that after monitoring the situation for a number of days, she concluded that her service was cut off for non-payment. However several others in the neighbourhood of Central Amelia’s Ward started inquiring from each other about their water supply.
“We decided to wait for a few more days and monitor the situation, hoping that the situation would get better but it worsened,” said another resident.
They explained that the water would flow early in the mornings at a very low pressure and stop within four hours. Many explained that the water supply would return between 5:00 and 5:30pm and run until 9:00pm, at which time they are still unable to secure sufficient amounts to do their chores.
Most persons said that they reported the matter to the GWI Linden office which is located in the LEN Business centre. They said they were assured that the problem would have been rectified within a day. However when contacted on Monday, Rawle Friday, the water body’s Linden manager, said that he began receiving reports from residents recently and was in the process of conducting an assessment to find the source of the problem. “We recently start receiving calls on this situation and would be able to say by (today) exactly what the problem is,” said Friday.
The problem is common throughout the entire Amelia’s Ward but those hardest hit are Self Help and Central Amelia’s Ward. In April of this year, a $90M well was commissioned at Amelia’s Ward, a project which was funded by the Government of Guyana. The new well, which is approximately 200ft, was expected to deliver 150 cubic meters of water per hour to over 5,000 residents of Amelia’s Ward and Central Mackenzie by extension.
At the commissioning, it was stated that a survey was conducted in February 2010 to give the water company a real feel of residents’ thoughts. A summary showed that on the question of the service offered, 80% of residents said that the service was adequate.
Stabroek News had spoken with several residents who were present at the ceremony and their opinions proved otherwise.
They complained bitterly of the poor rationing system that they have been experiencing over the years. They said that because of the rapid development that has taken place in the area, the old well was insufficient to carry the load. They charged that on numerous occasions the ailing plant malfunctioned, adding to their water woes. Nonetheless, they were confident that the situation would improve with the installation of the new well.
Everyone said that while tests of the water system were being carried out during the construction of the new well, water pressure and quality to their homes were significantly improved.
“Now today we are back to square one is just like when we were getting water from the old well or even worse,” complained a bitter resident, while others called on the authorities to quickly rectify the problems.