…cost to produce water $400M monthly – Operations Director
The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) expends approximately $400 million per month in order to be able to deliver potable water to its consumers according to the company’s Director of Operations, Dwayne Shako.
GWI Director of Operations, Dwayne Shako
Shako made the revelation on Monday during a Facebook live interaction with consumers as the company explained its role in the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Chemical cost on the Coast, not talking about Regions One (Brima-Waini), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Essequibo) …just on the Coast our chemical cost is about approximately $60 million per month for water and that chemical includes alum…So our chemical cost alone is around $60 million per month and if I should take in electricity cost it is somewhere around $245 million per month. If I should take in some other employment cost, I think we are heading to about $400 million a month in terms of labour and all these things,” Shako explained in an effort to give a breakdown of operational costs.
GWI Customer Relations Manager Andrea Khan
“When people say Guyana is the land of many water and why should I pay for water, I always make the point that you don’t pay for water. Water is free, you pay for the service. You can take any water that is available to you. You can go to any river any canal and have that water but for us to ensure that water is drinkable, that water is safe, that water comes to your tap then it comes with a cost. There are people working 24 hours a day to ensure that water is potable and that is what you pay for not the cost of the water but just the service to get the water,” he added.
He noted that with operational costs pegged at that amount, consumers have to realise the importance of paying for the service since the company would have to meet its expenses. Shako explained that if the company does not meet its expenses then it would be detrimental to the provision of services.
Increased water use
In the era of COVID-19, where water is the primary defence against the potentially deadly virus, GWI noted that it has recorded a staggering increase in consumption. While the increase would signal the domino effect of an increase in revenues, it also poses as a challenge for the company as well since the company now has to put measures in place to maintain water pressure to serve customers.
“We have seen an increase, we have recorded over 200,000 m3 in consumption per day and because we are not reading meters we can’t isolate which customers we have the increase from. But we know that is coming from areas where there is a lot of increase in sanitising like in New Amsterdam, Linden and Georgetown and that is understandable but it also puts a strain on our system to keep up that pressure for delivery,” Shako noted.
At the time, as part of GWI’s COVID-19 safety measures for its staffers, meter readers are not visiting customers to take readings, rather bills are being estimated but persons are being urged to go in and pay their bills. He also related that they should take their meter readings for the correct bill.
At this time, GWI has ceased all disconnections but Shako said persons still need to pay their bills and advised persons who were disconnected earlier to visit one of the GWI offices and work with the company for the restoration of their service.
He stressed the importance of having potable water in the COVID-19 era by relating that GWI has been working with unregularised communities so that they can have at least a standpipe for the delivery of potable water.
Also, GWI is working with the various schools and hospitals to ensure that their water supply is safe for consumption.
Submit own meter readings
Meanwhile, Customer Relations Manager, Andrea Khan reminded that the company is not sending its meter readers out during the COVID-19 pandemic and as such urged persons to submit their meter readings in order to get the correct bill amount.
If that is not done, then they would be receiving an estimated amount based on their usage history.
In addition, Khan urged persons to utilise the various mediums – GWI app, the website, WhatsApp – to send in their meter reading and queries so that they could be addressed. She also pleaded with persons to pay their bills and do so in a safe way by either using the services of payment agencies, online banking or visiting GWI offices.
When asked whether the company is losing money due to COVID-19, Khan said “won’t say the company is losing money. Payment is slow and we understand and we are still hoping that persons will come in and pay”.
