Some residents of the North Rupununi villages of Kaicumbay and Yupukari now have access to water in their homes for the first time, according to a release on Sunday from the Guyana Water Inc (GWI).
In Kaicumbay, this is as a result of the drilling of a well at the depth of 100 meters and the installation of a Photovoltaic system, transmission and distribution pipelines and individual service connections in the village.
The project was financed by the Government of Guyana and GWI to the tune of $13M and has doubled the percentage of the village’s population with access to potable water. The community now has 90% access, the release said.
The Water Supply system was commissioned on Saturday, 23rd November, 2019 and at that ceremony, GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles told the residents that the quality of the water produced by the well is in keeping with World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.
He also said that water quality testing will be done on a monthly basis and residents will have access to the results.
Senior Councillor of Kaicumbay, Ovid Brown said in the previous years the water supply in village was very poor. According to him, many calls on the previous administration for a water supply system fell on deaf ears.
Ernetta Marco, a resident of Kaicumbay was also thankful to the Government for the water supply system. She described previously having to travel long distances down a hill to fetch “dirty water” which she also consumed.
Over in Yupukari, Director General Joseph Harmon commissioned a new well, where all residents will benefit from potable water in their homes.
Yupukari is also in the North Rupununi, approximately three hours from Lethem, and has a population of 350 residents.
Speaking at the event, Harmon reiterated that water quality is one of GWI’s top priorities and as such, the water residents are receiving is of WHO standard.
GWI said that the Yupakari well was drilled at a cost of $15 million dollars. This is the second of such in the village.
