All the needed material has been procured to recap the well that erupted in the yard of a Diamond Housing Scheme resident last week, according to acting Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Lt. Col. Kester Craig.
Craig yesterday said Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) will prepare the material for the recapping, which will be done by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
Senior Petroleum Analyst at the GGMC Mitchell Prince has previously said that the plan is to reverse the drilling of the well by installing two casings and then sealing it off.
“It is the reverse of drilling a well. The hole is already there, it is now to put the casings in and seal it off. We are going to use 18-inch casings on the outside and 14 inches diameter casings on the inside. That would be sealed around with concrete and there will be a valve. During the process of construction, the valve will be left opened so as to vent and release the pressures. When you are finish sealing up then you can close the valve. This can be done in about three weeks,” Prince was quoted as saying in a Ministry of Presidency statement last Saturday.
Recapping of the well is expected to take approximately two to three weeks.
When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday, the clean-up exercise was still ongoing. While most of the slush was removed from the front of the yard of Soownauth ‘Water Man’ Gorakh, who was digging the illegal well, the back was still filled with mud. The well was still bubbling, indicating that gas was still being released.
Representatives from the CDC, GWI, GGMC and other agencies were also on the ground assisting with the clean-up.
Attempts to ascertain from either the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Hydrometeorological Office whether Gorakh would face charges proved futile. Stabroek News called both offices several times yesterday but was told that Executive Director of the EPA Kemraj Parsram and head of the Hydromet Office Garvin Cummings were both in meetings.
Sources have related that the man would be liable to consequences from the EPA, since there were environmental implications, and the Hydromet office, since he was not granted permission to dig a domestic well in his yard.
Gorakh has said that he and his wife attempted to dig the well after experiencing water troubles. A statement issued by the Region Four administration last Saturday reported Tulabhaduree his wife as saying that while the extent of their damage cannot be determined as yet, they have estimated that it amounts to over $20 million.
