The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) is currently piloting a wastewater treatment plant at the Tucville sewer station. The project is aimed at identifying a sustainable solution for treating Guyana’s wastewater.
This pilot project will allow the company to assess the suitability and removal efficiency of the selected treatment processes. These treatment processes are eco-friendly and allow for water, nutrient, and energy recovery.
GWI CEO Shaik Baksh being shown the wastewater treatment process using the model plant
Chief Executive Officer of the water company, Shaik Baksh, and a team of technical officials visited the facility on Friday and had a first-hand look at the operation.
The treatment process includes physical treatment by screening and grit removal, biological treatment using the up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, and a constructed wetland and ultraviolet disinfection.
The pilot wastewater treatment plant set up in the compound of the Tucville Sewerage Station
The selected treatment processes would allow for resource recovery such as biogas, water and fertilizer. The treated waste would comply with wastewater reuse standards for non-potable uses.
Baksh, while touring the facility, stressed the importance of Guyana moving towards the treatment of wastewater, especially given the country’s massive development on the horizon, particularly in the tourism industry.
He alluded to the positive impact wastewater treatment facilities will have on the environment.
Construction of the wastewater treatment facilities would, however, require funding from external agencies, and Baksh noted that he would be engaging central Government for financial support to ensure this becomes a reality.
In fact, GWI’s new strategic plan for 2021-2025 includes an investment programme for wastewater treatment plants.
According to Baksh, over the last 10 years, significant investments were made to refurbish and develop the sewerage network in Georgetown. The next step, therefore, is the construction of wastewater treatment facilities.
While the pilot plant has the treatment capacity of 5 cubic metres per day, it would provide the optimum operating conditions, which will be adapted for the designing of the actual 600-cubic-metre-per-day wastewater treatment plant at Tucville.
The Georgetown sewerage system consists of 24 pumping stations that receive wastewater from the central Georgetown area, while the Tucville sewerage system consists of a receiving station that collects wastewater from the Tucville and Stevedore areas. The two systems collect wastewater from a fixed population of 60,000 persons and a transient population of 200,000 persons daily.
In addition to the fulfilment of the company’s mission, wastewater treatment facilities would allow for Guyana’s compliance with the Cartagena Convention and its protocol relative to land-based sources of pollution.
Compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency Act relating to discharge standard would also be achieved. Further, it will bring Guyana closer to realising Sustainable Development Goals number 6, 7 and 14.
The pilot of the plant will seek to produce biogas for cooking purposes and electrical usage.
