Guyana Hydrometeorological Department has predicted a period of decreased rainfall which could last for another six to 12 months and as a result, the Civil Defense Commission (CDC) has begun sensitization programmes in all Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) as the country prepares for El Nino. For its part the hydromet office has said that come next month there will be increased rainfall but until then the extreme dry weather will continue.
As we continue to experience El Niño which is intensifying, Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) should also have a more robust campaign to educate the general public on water conservation. Only a mere six days ago the water company appealed for coastland, and more particularly the hinterland regions, to conserve water and report wastages where they occur. This should have started months ago.
Many years ago, when Guyana had extreme El Niño conditions, the now President of Guyana, President Dr Irfaan Ali, when he was at the time Housing and Water Minister had said that despite depleting water resources, citizens were not serious about conservation; they were still wasting the commodity. This prompted him on a large-scale campaign to save water.
At the time even alarming drops in the water levels in the East Demerara Water Conservancy and the Lamaha Canal and threats of water shortages and rationing did not curtail extravagant usage.
At a recent training of Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) officials in Regions Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), CDC Director-General, Colonel (ret’d) Nazrul Hussain is quoted as saying that the commission has been travelling countrywide and documenting feedback from their engagements as it relates to each region’s preparedness for any eventuality. To quote him, he said that awareness and preparedness “are two key words…and there is an education and informative process through short presentations on how El Nino can affect the population in terms of lives and livelihood.”
Water conservation, then and now is an issue Guyanese are still to embrace. Our propensity to wastewater may be largely attributed to GWI’s approach to the issue. There have been and continues to be considerable losses in the distribution systems and unsatisfactory response to leakage reports are communicating to consumers that wastage is not a grave concern to the authorities. We must admit that there has been great improvement over the years at GWI. However, the precious commodity is still being lost due to leakage. If consumers are to be more serious about conservation, GWI must first set an example. The company can no longer tolerate inefficiencies in its water distribution systems and the resulting loss of revenue associated with it. Increases in pumping, treatment, and operational costs make these losses prohibitive. With a high-priced operation, the utility is losing valuable financial resources when volumes of water are lost through leakages.
A leak detection programme can be highly valuable as encourages people to think about water conservation before they are asked to take action to reduce their own water use. We believe that the public must be encouraged more to conserve, but its efforts are still inadequate.
It is very challenging to convince Guyanese of the importance of water conservation. We feel, however, that more results will be achieved if authorities show consumers how serious it is about conservation by reducing leaks across the country. Then it may strategically target sections of the population with its message. The utility company’s educational programme should also include teaching children to conserve is crucial. However, despite its importance, it does not lessen the need for a nationwide public education programme to get the entire population to understand the concept and put it into practice. The utility may also want to dispel myths about Guyana’s water resources during its campaigns.
