New $24M water supply system reaching 96 per cent of Quarrie village

– 100 new wells drilled to date in the hinterland regions

Some 96 per cent of the residents in Quarrie in Central Rupununi, Region Nine, now have a reliable supply of potable water after the commissioning of another water supply system valued at $24 million.

The new system was commissioned on Friday by the Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues.

In April 2024, a new $12 million well was commissioned in the village providing some 63 per cent of residents with clean water.

It was then decided that another well would be drilled to capture about 80 Buru Section residents who are living some distance away from the system. 

Before these works, the 263 residents heavily relied on a hand-dug well, which suffered severe depletion due to the prolonged dry season.

The remaining 4 per cent of the population, located far from the existing water system remains unconnected.

As such, efforts are underway to close the gap to achieve 100 per cent water coverage in the village.

Minister Rodrigues highlighted that significant strides have been made in the hinterland’s water sector with an increased access from 45 per cent in 2020 to 83 per cent in 2024.

In four years, the government has spent $5.5 billion in advanced potable water coverage in the hinterland regions.

She further pointed out, “100 new wells have been drilled in the hinterland regions from 2020 to now. Those are the projects that are completed. We have projects that are in progress now.”

At the end of 2024, 30 wells will be completed which will further increase potable water coverage to over 90 per cent in the hinterland regions.

She continued, “It is a major accomplishment for the hinterland regions…This scale of development has never been seen before.”

These interventions by the government are geared to deliver 100 per cent access to clean water to the people of Guyana by 2025.

Meanwhile, Senior Councillor of Quarrie, Martin Anthony said that the water supply system has alleviated the need for residents to utilise their buckets to obtain water from the well.

“It [water) is right there in your yards. You can now go and turn [your tap] on to get clean water. This is so amazing. We have never witnessed this before…This brings us to another step of development in Quarrie Village,” Anthony said.

Minister Rodrigues also handed over sports gear equipment to the community to boost sports development. Regional Chairman, Bryan Allicock, and Guyana Water Incorporated’s Hinterland Services Director Ramchand Jailal also spoke at the commissioning ceremony.