Kamarang in Region Seven and its surrounding areas on Friday received a total of 15 filters from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to assist in the purification of drinking water following an outbreak of diarrhoea there, a press release from GWI said.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for water, Dawn Hastings led a team of officials into the community to evaluate the water situation, provide technical help and a temporary solution in the form of Lifesaver filters.
GWI said that the filters were distributed to the Warawatta village, Kamarang Primary and Nursery Schools, Kako village, the Upper Mazaruni, Kamarang District Hospital and Quebanang Primary School.
Responding to questions posed by the Managing Director of GWI Richard Van West-Charles about their usual source of water, some villagers said that they use water from a creek, while others use from a pond for drinking.
The children, they said, use from the river too when they are playing and become dehydrated. The residents, the release said, therefore requested that all communities have access to the wells that are expected to be drilled since in the past the well only catered to one section of the community. The residents of Warawatta also said that the well there has been nonfunctional for some three years.
In Quebanang, the release said that GWI’s technical personnel which comprised electricians, engineers and a laboratory technician, assisted in reactivating the water supply system that was out of service for quite some time.
This was done by repairing the community’s photovoltaic system. It is designed to supply usable solar power, which ensures the functioning of their water system.
Hastings reiterated that the filters will bring relief to the communities of Region Seven as it can even be used to convert the water from the river into potable water. GWI officials demonstrated to the villagers how the filters are used and can be cleaned.
The intervention in the community comes on the heels of reports of an outbreak of diarrhoea and according to Dr. Lakshmi Narain of the Upper Mazaruni, Kamarang District Hospital; almost all of the cases seen at the region’s hospital were water-borne.
GWI said it will be revisiting the Region Seven areas to determine the best sites for the drilling of wells.
