New well at Port Mourant, to be completed within a month – Residents to get 24hr water supply
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, June 2, 2018
A$60Million well is being constructed at the Port Mourant water treatment plant by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). Once completed residents in the East Berbice-Corentyne community and the surrounding villages will receive 24 hours of potable water.
The well is being constructed by the Trinidadian Company Water and Oil. It is being dug to a depth of 1100 feet and will improve water capacity to the over 100 residents receiving it.
A site visit was undertaken on June 1, by Managing Director of GWI Dr. Richard Van-West Charles and a team of officials from GWI.
Planning and Implementation Director, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Ramchand Jailall pointed out that at present residents who access water from the water treatment plant receive four hours in the morning and four in the evening.
“When we test the well, we will know the production so we will then be able to determine if we can be able to supply 24 hours or if we still have to drill another well to make sure we get the target of 24 hours” Jailall stated.
It was also disclosed that the construction of the new well by GWI is an “emergency plan” since two wells that supply the Port Mourant water treatment plant and the general area are currently down. Jailall explained that “the wells that are serving this plant, the Williamsburg well is down and the well within this plant has a structural challenge, so it is not pumping to its full capacity. This is an emergency job that we are undertaking right now.”
Managing Director of GWI Dr. Richard Van-West Charles said that careful consideration will be taken in selecting the best type of materials to construct the well. Dr. Van-West Charles noted that the salt air and water is the cause of many of the wells situated along the coast malfunctioning. Hence, he said that GWI will define clearly materials that will be durable and long lasting with respect to wells being dug along the coast.
“There will be no guesswork. We have 18 wells with carbon steel casing which have corroded. There is the well at Hope which is in a bad way also Vergenoegen. There are different parts we have to look at and that is because clearly we did not select and identify the right materials to be used. There is a lot of rust and the panels have gone and we now have to arrest that and move forward in a more structured manner” the Managing Director explained.
Once this well is completed and the necessary funds are immediately available, new wells will be dug at Fyrish Village East Berbice-Corentyne, Westminster and at Pouderoyen West Bank Demerara. The constriction of the wells is another step by GWI to ensure that Guyanese countrywide receive the best quality of water.
By: Isaiah Braithwaite
Photos by: Anil Seelall