Miners earlier this week again damaged the pipeline taking water to Mahdia, leaving the Region Eight community struggling with a limited supply.
Some water continues to flow through the pipeline to a section of the community but not to other parts as the pressure is too low, Region Eight Chairman Senor Bell told Stabroek News. Two sections of the pipeline along the road towards the Salbora Creek are damaged: one reportedly by an excavator and the other by miners, Bell said.
This is the second time that the pipe was damaged since 13 miners were banned from mining for damaging the pipeline and destroying several stretches of road in 2007. Bell said yesterday that the Region is working to fix the damage but could not give a timeline as to when repairs will be completed. The damage occurred sometime on Tuesday.
The destruction was condemned by Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali yesterday. In a statement issued by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Alli said that the miners’ actions caused the destruction of a significant section of pipeline serving the Mahdia community. “This is the second incident of this nature and I strongly condemn the actions by these miners,” the Minister was quoted as saying. “Due to their activities in the area they have destroyed GWI’s pipelines causing tremendous damage and compromising the quality of service we provide to the community of Mahdia,” he added.
Alli emphasised that the ruined lines would cause unwanted materials to enter the distribution system, thereby endangering the health of the residents of Mahdia. “These miners have no regard for safety and for the well-being of the community… open pipelines have disastrous results for the health of those served by the system,” he said. The minister said that due to the destruction, large sections of the distribution system have to be replaced which calls for significant finance.
Bell told this newspaper that the pipes that have been damaged are made of steel and these will have to be replaced but there is none available in Mahdia. He said that the Region had a crew working to fix the pipes but could not say when repairs would be completed. “It depends (on) if we could get the steel pipe and we got to get the pipe from Georgetown,” Bell said.
Chairman of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) board, retired Major General Joe Singh has contacted him seeking details, he said. The section damaged is not the same area damaged in 2007. Bell said miners are working in the area but they have been unable to determine which specific miner caused the damage as “nobody always don’t see.”
Alli, meanwhile, said that the destructive actions by the miners affected the livelihood of the Mahdia community, “the damaged section of pipeline resulted in a reduction of pressure which severely affected the lives of the residents since less water was available for every day activities. What angers me is that this has happened before and the miners were warned of the consequences.”
According to the statement, he has said that he will bring the matter to the attention of the relevant authorities and hopes that severe action will be taken against the offenders. “This is completely unacceptable…beyond the destruction of our infrastructure, these miners must be aware that they are putting lives at risk by compromising the quality of water provided to the Mahdia Community. Anyone engaging in such wanton disregard for the water infrastructure and the safety of those who use it will be met with severe consequences,” he said.
Back in 2007, thirteen miners were charged with damage to public property after they dredged and destroyed several stretches of road and the potable water supply system. They were also banned for five years. The GGMC had said at the time that the miners will not be issued mining privileges, sold permits or be registered to work in any mining district.
Trevor Calder, Richard Calder, Steve Caesar, Romel Hamilton, Denzil Tappin, Paul Young, Molly Nieuenkerk, Margaret Nieuenkerk, Orin Wilson, Prakash Singh, Stallin Halley, Bruan Angus and Linden Charles were the delinquent miners.
The damaged pipelines constituted the distribution system of the $50M Salbora Water Project. In addition to the pipelines which supplied potable water to surrounding communities with about 1,200 people, the gold and diamond miners also destroyed several stretches of the Mahdia road.
