Approximately $1.6 billion owed to the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has been collected between last October and now and CEO Dr Richard Van West-Charles said the utility was moving to improve its revenue collection in a bid to provide water to consumers around the country 24 hours a day.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Van West-Charles stated that since his tenure began as head of the utility company debt collection had improved. He credited the large sum that had been collected to the efficiency of the new policy, which he explained was to disconnect those customers who have not been paying their bills.
“We are trying to move very quickly with how we are improving our revenue. We have also established a system of contracts and if your debt is large you can establish a contract and pay over time and that’s the way the system is going to go,” he said, emphasizing that the aim is to have good quality water with good pressure.
Van West-Charles explained that some of the challenges were transitioning from the old administration and improving on the functions. “What we have in the present infrastructure cannot respond to the population demand, as such we have got to put in place a number of new wells and new treatment plants,” he said, pointing out that while Central Ruimveldt has a big plant, it was unable to have a 24-hour water supply because there are not enough reservoirs; as such another well will be needed.
“In the case of Sophia, a very large population, you haven’t got enough wells to respond to the demands of the population. I have addressed Diamond, a very large community, and there is one well and we are going to be putting a water treatment plant but we want to ensure that across the country we move to a 24-hour supply,” he said, highlighting that having 24-hour access to water also affects the water quality that residents receive.
He explained that while areas receive water from 09:00 hrs to 15:00 hrs, whenever the water stops contamination can occur. Therefore, the utility will have to ensure that across the board there is a 24-hour supply. He acknowledged that there will be several challenges but stated that as part of the new administration, there will be a strategic plan and a linkage between the plans and programmes that will be monitored and evaluated.
There will be “a new unit within the secretariat of the central executive to look at strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation and to ensure that programmes are directly linked to plans,” he said.
He highlighted that the principal area of focus is delivering the best water quality and said GWI was currently in the process of establishing a series of mini labs at water treatment plants around the country. “We already have one in Georgetown at Shelterbelt,” he said, explaining that Shelterbelt is unique because it takes 60% of surface water from the conservancy and 40% of water from the wells, which makes it complex to treat to achieve the WHO standards. He pointed out that previously the standard was not on par with WHO’s benchmark and with the completion of the rehabilitation of 10 filters and other major works, the water quality should improve drastically.
Van West-Charles explained that one of the main challenges the company is facing is that 18 of the wells around the country are in dire need of re-sleeving since the carbon casing they were made with is starting to deteriorate. “I would’ve mentioned before… the difficulty of carbon steel casing. We will have to re-sleeve approximately 18 wells,” he said, pointing out that one of the new wells being built in Eccles has encountered the problem. He said that while wells are supposed to have a lifespan of about 25 years, this has fallen to about four years or less.
He explained that with the new wells that will be built, and the ones that have to be repaired, GWI will be looking at using new materials such as PVC and fibreglass to do the casing. Van West-Charles explained that different materials are used for different depths and suggested that the ones that might have been used prior might have been inferior.
“It appears as if a decision was made to move with the carbon steel casing. Our water is very acidic so that interacts with the carbon steel and more so if the carbon steel is of an inferior quality; it makes matter worse. One would suspect that the carbon steel that was purchased is inferior,” he said, pointing out that there is a well at Fyrish, Corentyne that has been standing for more than 50 years, that was made with carbon steel, and it has not given many problems.
In addition to the infrastructural upgrades, Van West-Charles added that GWI will be addressing several issues within its administration with regard to staffing finances. He said when he started his tenure he met some “ridiculous allowances” that the staff were forced to endure and planned on making drastic changes.
He pointed out that the allowance for a staff member who was going to work in a sewer was $25 an hour, which he said was going to be changed so staff would be able to “get their fair share.”
He also highlighted that there is more focus on safety for workers and the new system ensures that all workers have adequate gear when performing their duties.
To date too, there are 12 new wells across the country, which he pointed out have cost a total of $343 million, whilst repairs and maintenance have totalled around $60 million.
