Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has called on residents of Mahdia to share their knowledge with its engineers for the development of a new water distribution system.
According to a GWI press release, this occurred on Sunday when a team of officials, headed by Managing Director, Dr Richard Van West-Charles, travelled to Mahdia on Saturday to engage residents in a public meeting. Residents explained that they endure constant disruptions and low level of service due to pipelines being broken during road works, clogged lines and unauthorised connections by miners. In addition, it was highlighted that the catchment area at the Salbora Creek and the existing reservoir have become insufficient to supply the increased population.
The release stated that the Managing Director instructed the residents to identify representatives to form a committee that is capable of making recommendations to the engineers for the design of a system that can respond to the needs of Mahdia, while taking into account other existing sources of water. Representatives will be drawn from Central Mahdia, Campbelltown, Seven Miles, Danjou Hill and the Airstrip – all of which make up the entire community.
According to the release, they are expected to provide GWI’s Hinterland Manager, Osei Manifold, with the list of names, after which they are to produce a draft design by March 31st. Another community meeting will be held on April 8th with the view of reviewing and reaching a consensus on the new design and plan.
Van West-Charles pointed out that “Most of the towns are not planned first and because there is no planning, we have this situation but that doesn’t mean that as human beings we can’t reorder things.”
Meanwhile, residents are of the belief that setting up an office and having engineers stationed in the village will see their concerns being addressed in a timely manner, while at the same time ensuring the efficiency of contractors. However, the Managing Director revealed that this is already a plan in the making.
