Residents of Five Mile, Bartica can expect to access potable water in three months, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal said on Thursday afternoon on a visit to the town.
According to a release from his ministry, he announced that $30 million has been set aside to source a booster pump from overseas to activate the water system to enable this.
The Minister was at the time addressing a gathering at a community outreach at the Four Mile Health Centre.
The release said that the water treatment plant in Bartica is at an elevation of 25 meters but can currently only pump water to an elevation of 45 meters; this covers up to Four Mile. The booster pump will result in an elevation of 45 meters and this would allow for the pumping of water to a height of 85 meters thereby allowing residents of Five Mile to access potable water for the first time.
The release said that Croal had initially said that residents of Five Mile would access water in December last but technical difficulties forced the delay. He said the booster pump can only be sourced overseas and the lengthy tender process caused a delay.
The Bartica treatment plant sources water from the Essequibo River and this is then treated and distributed to residents in the town.
Recently, a parallel distribution line was installed to provide continuous flow and additional water to the plant. As a result, in two weeks, this would allow for additional pressure and increased hours of water to residents. The plant currently supplies water over 18 hours to central Bartica and One to Four Miles.
With the increased supply of water of about 320 cubic meters (up from the current 210 cubic meters) the plant should be able to pump water 24-hours a day. The project to install the new booster station would benefit 875 residents, the release added.
