Illegal connections, wastage continue to affect GWI

At its performance review for 2019, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has insisted that it continues to battle with acts of illegal consumption and water wastage, which affect the overall operations.

Managing Director of GWI, Dr Richard Van West Charles indicated that there are a number of factors which influence the agency’s output. While wastage is a major issue, there is the recurring act of untimely payment of bills and an inefficient billing system. Illegal connections, he noted, have also been prevalent throughout 2019.
In the past, he claimed that the company has taken a number of people before the courts and will continue to do so in 2020.
“We have a number of illegal connections, not necessarily by small people— by big people…We will try to address the illegal connections. It is against the law. The law is very clear. When you tamper with GWI’s infrastructure, it is a criminal offence. And you cannot sublet water,” he cautioned.
On the aspect of operational services, the archaic network in Georgetown has affected water delivery. Meanwhile, unreliable electricity supply coupled with procurement constraints also adds to their challenges. In some cases, suppliers were inconsistent in meeting the stipulated guidelines of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).
“The vandalism of our infrastructure, we have to deal with the poor quality of supplies and we are going to be looking at that going forward in 2020 and try to ensure that we also address some of the procurement constraints. We have a challenge in terms of our local suppliers; the pipes are not necessarily sitting together and we are hoping to meet with these suppliers and the Bureau of Standards.”
He encouraged persons to report or fix leakages in their homes since it is a wastage of potable water. Adding to that, homeowners are charged with increased rates for the volume of water wasted.
For the year 2020, GWI will be focusing on a number of measures to curb the issues faced in the past. They will seek to replace the customer information and billing system, move to implement smart meters and the introduction of electronic meter reading.
“The automatic meter reading is going to make a difference and we’re hoping that the financing will be achieved. We’ve commenced discussions this year and we’re hoping that that will be achieved. We think that we’ll have the support with the purchase of these electronic meters. We know that some of the meters do have problems…We’re very sensitive to those issues,” Van West Charles ascertained.
Meanwhile, services will be improved by introducing a bill payment via an app, the introduction of e-billing through email and regional bill production.
He added, “We want to include a new billing payment module where customers can understand the bill even better and also move to e-billing as far as possible. At our offices, we’re asking customers to indicate to opt if they want to receive an e-bill. If they want to receive an e-bill, that will be introduced”.