The Guyana Water Incor-porated (GWI) will begin exploring the drilling of a new well for Mahdia as it looks to safeguard and regularise the community’s potable water, while in the short term it will provide a pump to boost supply.
According to a GWI press release, during a visit to the area last week, its Chief Executive Dr Richard Van West-Charles committed GWI to developing a long-term water development plan to address all the water supply needs of Mahdia and surrounding communities in Region 8. GWI also plans to install a reservoir in 2016 to improve the performance of the water supply system, the release said.
“A long-term plan is needed to ensure that we rise above all the current challenges and that residents of Mahdia are not without water for long periods,” the release quoted Van West-Charles as saying. “Our objective is to collaborate with the Regional Administration towards achieving a highly efficient water supply infrastructure,” he added.
Van West-Charles and a senior management team including Executive Direc-tor of GWI’s Infrastruc-ture, Planning and Imple-mentation Department (IPID) Ramchand Jailal, visited the community last week to address the challenges being faced by the Regional Administration with regard to water supply.
During a visit to Campbelltown, the release said, the team from GWI observed that the community required a new electrical pump for the facility which supplied the area with water. According to Jailal, “GWI will be collaborating with the Regional Administration within the next 10 days to replace the pump. In addition, GWI will assist with the extension of the water supply mains to sections of the community in order to improve the level of service.”
The release said GWI and the Regional Adminis-tration agreed to collaborate on the repair of the transmission main within the area which had signs of damage in several areas, causing low levels of service within Mahdia. The GWI team also observed that the flow of the Salbora Creek, a key source of water within Mahdia, was below the normal level. Jailal said this was as a result of “several leaks observed along the catchment area,” and solutions would be explored.
Meanwhile, Van West-Charles warned of the impact of mining within the area which can cause damage to the water supply infrastructure, the release stated. It quoted him as saying, “We have observed several sections of the transmission mains in areas used for mining. These mains are at risk of being damaged due to mining activities which would directly affect the water service supplied to Mahdia. Should the infrastructure be compromised due to mining, GWI will collaborate with the Regional Administration to take swift action against the parties responsible through the relevant authorities.”
A team of GWI engineers is to assess all urgent remedial works including repairs to be undertaken in the Salbora Creek area as well as works to be executed on the transmission/distribution system and GWI will appoint an officer, recommended by the region, to provide daily operation, maintenance and management of the water supply system in Mahdia, the release said.
