A new well was on Wednesday commissioned by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) at Culvert City, in Region Nine, as efforts continue to offer relief to drought affected communities.
The new well, according to a Government Information Agency (GINA) report, will supply hundreds of residents with potable water.
It has a depth of about 187 feet, and is equipped with a 5-horsepower pump, with a distribution system of over 12 cubic meters per hour.
According to GINA, GWI’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Van West-Charles said the well is part of the company’s effort to provide safe water to the residents of Region Nine, in the face of the current drought. Several wells are being drilled to bring relief to residents of the region.
“We at GWI, we want to, as we move forward with our new strategic plan, pay more direct attention to the whole issue of a sustainable approach for water in Region Nine for human consumption, agriculture, tourism and so on. We are now looking at how we can engage other actors with the expertise to more or less look at the situation here,” Van West-Charles was quoted as saying.
He added that GWI is moving to test the water which is being distributed to the residents and to the health and education facilities within Region Nine, while noting that the intention is to ensure that the water is of an acceptable quality.
The water company’s laboratory in Georgetown, which was recently re-established, will be working with the staff in Region Nine, who will be collecting samples to send to the laboratory for testing, the report noted.
Meanwhile, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, who was also present at the commissioning, pointed out that his Ministry is working along with GWI to ensure that all the villages, especially those involved in farming, are supplied with potable water.
He said that while government would like to get more wells in place, there is need for research, planning, funding and the technical personnel to ensure quality work to satisfy the needs of the people.
Region Nine communities have been facing severe challenges sourcing potable due to the prolonged El Nino weather conditions. The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and GWI have had to make several interventions to alleviate the water situation, the GINA report noted.
