10 more wells to be drilled along the Pomeroon River by the end of 2024
Ten more potable water wells are slated to be drilled in villages along the Pomeroon River, Region Two by the end of 2024.
This will be done by the Ministry of Housing and Water in collaboration with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
It is to ensure that the ministry achieves its objective of providing clean and treated water to residents in the coastland and hinterland areas by 2025.
While commissioning the Hackney and Friendship wells last Friday in region, Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues stated that the team from GWI has commenced drilling operations in Marlborough and Karawab.
“From Marlborough, we are going to St John’s…Then we are going to Jacklow Pomeroon, then Abrams Creek. All of this will be done by the GWI engineers with our internal rig,” Minister Rodrigues noted.
Other villages for the drilling of wells will include St Monica, Bethany, Dredge Creek, Siriki, Kabakaburi, and Wakapau.
“All of these areas in the Pomeroon River will receive wells in 2024. So, some are ongoing while some will start very soon and some will start a little later in the year,” the minister assured.
In order to achieve these goals, the ministry has since invested in several rigs to drill the wells.
“The guys at GWI have the technical skills and competence to drill the well themselves,” the housing and water minister posited.
From 2020 to now, the housing and water ministry spent some $3.4 billion in hinterland and riverain communities alone. This saw about 75 new wells being drilled during that time.
According to Minister Rodrigues, this would have provided approximately 15,000 residents with first-time access to clean water.
Meanwhile, the minister further noted that for this year, another $1.4 billion has been set aside to help drill an additional 40 wells in the hinterland and riverain areas.
“That is why we can have such a concentrated effort here in the Pomeroon River because we have the rig present in the river and we can move from community to community, ensuring that we cover the Pomeroon River and the Essequibo Coast,” the minister explained.