GWI bringing an end to Amelia’s Ward water woes
─additional well to be dug
─providing a more stable water supply for residents
─correcting the faults of previous water rehabilitation project
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, May 11, 2019
In an effort to bring an end to the water woes faced by residents of Amelia’s Ward, Linden and to correct faults unearthed from the previous construction of water plants, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), is preparing to drill an additional well in the community.
Confirming this was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GWI, Dr. Van West-Charles who said the company has decided to include the community in its present water well project, which has already benefitted several communities across Guyana, because of its significant number of residents.
Amelia’s Ward is one of the largest communities in Region 10 and its population has increased rapidly with the establishment of new schemes. There are already two wells in Amelia’s Ward and this additional well is expected to serve the growing population more adequately. Residents of Amelia’s Ward do not benefit from water supply every day as the present system, cannot meet the demand of the growing population. At the recently held government outreach in Linden, residents, particularly of the Amelia’s Ward new schemes, highlighted the situation to the visiting ministers.
GWI had made previous strides to provide regular water supply to the residents of Linden through a$85.6Billion (US $412 M) Linden Water Supply Rehabilitation Programme. However, as a result of structural and implementation faults that have emerged during its execution, this did not happen.
The move to drill an additional well in Linden was welcomed by regional officials and residents. Constituency Representative of Amelia’s Ward, Lawrence Simon said he believes it was the better move to drill a well than to construct a new plant. “ .. for me I welcome it because due to some technical specification, the plant was not able to supply Amelia’s Ward. So, I think GWI moving in this direction, is very welcomed and it will be able to offset some of the water problems in Amelia’s Ward.”
A resident of Central Amelia’s Ward Jonnell Drakes, said she is happy with the plan to drill an additional well since she is in the business of poultry rearing which demands a regular water supply. In the recently concluded dry season, she said she suffered tremendously on the days that water was not running as there was no rain to full some of the drums in her yard.
In 2018 senior staff members of GWI were sent to the United States to be trained in drilling techniques as the company beefed up its installation capacity and embarked on the water well project.
Story and Images: Vanessa Braithwaite