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‘GWI to fix city’s ‘rusty’ water woes by weekend’ – CEO says company prepared to look at relief for customers due to disruption
Images posted by customers to show the quality of water they are receiving (file photo)
– CEO says company prepared to look at relief for customers due to disruption
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) is working to address ongoing water quality issues in Central Georgetown, with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shaik Baksh assuring customers that the situation should be resolved by this weekend.
Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shaik Baksh
The company has come under fire from frustrated residents who have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with not receiving water and others the discoloured and turbid water currently being supplied. At a press briefing on Thursday, Baksh explained the circumstances leading to the deterioration in water quality, highlighting that the company is deeply concerned about the impact on households.
“We are very much concerned about the situation and the effect the water supply has been having on household,” Baksh said. He added, “We do apologise for the situation which we consider was unavoidable.”
According to the CEO, the problem began about a month ago when GWI noticed issues with water quality in the two large canals at the Shelter Belt facility. These canals store water coming from the East Demerara Conservancy through the Lamaha Canal. “We observed firstly that something was wrong with the quality of water that was coming in and then we did further checks and we recognised that the sedimentation load coming to the plant was extremely high,” Baksh explained, noting that such a high level of sedimentation had never been experienced before.
The CEO detailed the company’s immediate response to the problem, which involved sending a team to the conservancy. The team discovered that dredging activities, combined with recent heavy rainfall, had caused a significant buildup of sludge in the canals, which then moved into the reservoirs at the Shelter Belt facility.
GWI quickly mobilised additional labour to clean the western canal, completing the work in about two weeks. They are now finishing the cleaning of the eastern canal, with completion expected by this evening or early tomorrow. “The point I wish to make is that there is an overload of sedimentation into our system which has affected the quality of water going out,” Baksh said.
To address the water quality issues in the city, GWI is also conducting a flushing exercise to remove sludge from the transmission and distribution network. Notably, the GWI team also presented samples of water from around Georgetown to show that the quality has improved from the brown murky colour that some customers have posted online.
“We are hoping that within a couple of days, you see you can’t be that precise because of the nature of the network the amount of sludge in there to be extracted…from the transmission and distribution system in central Georgetown. But we are hoping that by weekend we will see significant changes,” Baksh stated, although he cautioned that the exact timeline depends on the extent of the buildup in the network.
When asked about potential relief for customers who received poor-quality water but still received high bills, Baksh acknowledged the concerns and said, “We are prepared to look at that, to consider that, some relief to the customers during this period that they were affected.”
He added that a staff member would be tasked with reviewing the issue before the company issues a formal statement. On Wednesday this publication reported that the company came under fire after re-uploading a post to its official Facebook page, advising customers that high levels of turbidity and sediment at the Shelter Belt intake have caused significant challenges in supplying water to central Georgetown. Many customers expressed outrage, claiming that these issues have persisted far longer than GWI acknowledges. Some residents report that they have been struggling with water supply problems for weeks, if not months. Also, the discontent escalated further on Tuesday when GWI issued a payment notice to its customers. The timing of the notice, amid the ongoing water crisis, provoked a strong backlash.
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