Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) says it is willing to provide necessary technical assistance to the Region Eight Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to address water supply problems in the Mahdia and Campbelltown communities.
GWI said in a statement yesterday that it is not responsible for supplying water to Mahdia but has provided technical assistance in the past and is willing to do so again. The statement was in response to concerns raised by the AFC, as reported in the Stabroek News article headlined ‘Mahdia, Campbelltown without water since last June, says AFC,’ published in Thursday’s edition.
The utility company noted that the water supply infrastructure of Mahdia is not within its purview and is instead governed by the RDC. GWI added that it has consistently provided technical assistance to the region regarding water supply challenges.
The statement said that the company is also prepared to provide assistance to Campbelltown through the Regional Democratic Council. It quoted GWI’s Director of Capital Investment and Planning, Ramchand Jailal as saying that “the Campbelltown pipelines are plagued by blockages resulting from damages due to illegal mining activities within the community and lack of maintenance to the supply system; hence the water supply has been severely hampered. Despite efforts to correct initial challenges, constant dredging by miners has severely affected the infrastructure which supplies the community.”
GWI added that it is willing to provide necessary technical advice and assistance when a plan of action has been determined by the relevant authorities.
On Wednesday, the AFC called for “emergency interventions” in some hinterland communities and said that some residents in Region Eight have been depending on the rains for their daily water supply since last June. “The Hinterland regions continue to be affected by many issues and situations that could be resolved if some attention is paid and systems put in place to alleviate them,” AFC parliamentarian Valerie Garrido-Lowe said at a news conference.
Since last June/July, Garrido-Lowe said, the residents of Mahdia and Campbelltown have been depending on the rains for their daily water supply and they are becoming anxious with the approaching dry weather.
According to her, the Salbora water main needs to be repaired and despite reports to GWI and a claim by its officials that workmen are in the area to fix it, residents are still not getting any water through their pipes.
It was noted that AFC parliamentarian Eula Marcello, along with other councilors, did a “walk about” in Campbelltown and obtained signatures from many of the residents who are requesting that GWI go into the region and get the necessary repairs done.
It was also noted that many residents of the Campbelltown do not have pipelines running to their homes and many of them also do not have electricity.
Residents have long complained of the water supply system in the hinterland community.
Following a fire in 2010, Housing Minister Irfaan Ali had said between 2005 and then, $80.5 million had been spent by the administration on the water system in the community.
Mahdia is supplied with water via a gravity system fed through a spring box. There have been instances where miners have destroyed pipelines severely disrupting the water supply.
