Region Ten residents to benefit from improved water service

─ GWI, CReW Plus partner to push developmental agenda

The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has partnered with CReW Plus to provide improved water service to residents across Region Ten. The collaboration was launched at GWI’S headquarters on Friday.

The objective is to implement innovative, technical small-scale solutions, using an Integrated Water and Wastewater Management (IWWM) approach.

CReW Plus is a partnership project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), being co-implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

It is being executed by the secretariat of the Cartagena Convention (CAR/RCU), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the Organisation of American States (OAS) on behalf of UNEP and the IDB respectively.

GWI’s Chief Executive Officer, Shaik Baksh said Kwakwani is among the communities that will benefit, noting that the community is home to about 2,500 and the network there has deteriorated.

“We are moving to ensure we upgrade it…we have done the condition survey already and we intend to bring it to a state where it can serve the people and reduce any health and environmental risks to the population there,” Baksh stated.

He revealed that GWI will be building a bio-digester plant at Kwakwani to utilise the wastewater, which will also provide energy to the sewage plant in the village.

Mr Baksh added that the water infrastructure programme in the town of Linden is a vital project which will benefit the residents.

‘There we want to bring down the water losses which is affecting the level of service to the communities,” the CEO added.

Finance from CReW Plus will be used to protect the west water source at Watooka. As such, water will be utilised from its conservancy to remove polluted water from the Demerara River.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal said his ministry will work hard to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG 6).  

“All the programmes, projects and funding that you see coming GWI’s way, is for us to achieve our SDG Six by 2025, that is what we are working towards. And so similarly, access to potable water across the entire country must be achieved within the next two and a half years,” the minister stated.