Guyana exploring more options to access potable water

The need for Guyana to explore, analyse and monitor its groundwater resources was underscored by several officials on Tuesday during an event to commemorate World Water Day 2022 which is being observed under the theme “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible.”

Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Water Inc (GWI) Shaik Baksh believes that the local water supply sector needs to be re-envisioned while Water Minister Collin Croal posited that the sustainable use of water resources is the way into the future.
During the opening of the exhibition that was held at the National Cultural Centre Tarmac in recognition of World Water Day 2022, Head of GWI Shaik Baksh revealed that the company has 135 wells that are currently functioning as the major suppliers of potable water.

This is coupled with over 20 Private Sector wells.
He added that the company is currently looking at ways to support the dynamic drive of the Government and will have to drill more wells to accommodate those projects. However, he said going into the future, the Government needs to explore other options of accessing water.
“…in Region 10 there is a source there in which we extract the water directly from the creek, and it is fed with chlorination into the distribution network. This is what we would like to see replicated… only last week I was at the East Demerara Conservancy, we looked at the water, and it looked like a very good source of water…much more work has to be done,” he said.
Baksh said the extraction of water for the year 2019 was 13 million cubic meters of water a month, and that rose to 15 million cubic metres monthly, something the company cannot sustain.
“Better management of the resource, and of the unfractured is required…by 2021, we were back to the 2019 figure… we recognise these things and there is a big cost.”
He further revealed that GWI spent $606 million in chemicals last year for their treatment plants.
“This is a huge sum indeed. For the energy to drive our wells and the treatment plants, is nearly $3 billion we spent last year. We are on the move to construct 12 new treatment plants so we have to plan carefully in terms of energy efficiency and chemical use,” he explained.
According to Baksh, the water supply sector in Guyana needs to be re-envisioned.
Meanwhile, Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal stated that with the increasing demand for clean water, it is pertinent that all of our water sources are protected.
As such, the Government has set clear objectives to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Six: water and sanitation for all by 2030. These include increasing potable water coverage to 100 per cent by 2025 and increasing treated water coverage.
The Minister has already disclosed that a study would soon get underway to determine whether the water captured at the Hope Canal facility can be treated to be used as a sustainable source to serve the East Coast Demerara (ECD) corridor.