Jawalla to receive 1st time water access by December

Central Jawalla, situated just off the Kamarang river in the upper reaches of the Mazaruni river in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), is scheduled to have access to potable water for the first time ever by December 2021.
This has been revealed by Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal, who visited the well-drilling site on Wednesday last. Croal, during his visit, pointed out that the project is being completed to the tune of $40 million, and could see Central Jawalla benefiting while the remainder of the village would benefit in the next phase.

“You would recognise that there is a challenge in the hinterland. Sometimes it’s not always a possibility to run pipe networks to every single household, because of the geographic location where some persons live”, the Minister explained.
In this regard, the Housing and Water Minister noted, approximately 80 service connections will be installed, including to the school, Village Council, and Health Centre.
Unlike Kamarang, where numerous attempts at drilling failed in the past because of uncertainty and rock formation, the Minister said this is the first such attempt at Jawalla, and he is confident it would be a success, since requisite preparatory works were carried out.
Prior to mobilisation of the drilling rig, a resistivity logging exercise was conducted to find the best-suited location for the well.
Managing Director of R. Kissoon Contracting Service, Rudranauth Roopdeo, disclosed that transporting the drilling rig to the community was the biggest challenge.
He explained that for communities such as Jawalla, the rig is disassembled and flown into the region, after which it traverses the river on a barge. He posited, however, that the well and the distribution network would be completed by December, as indicated by the Minister.
Community members will be employed for the laying of distribution pipelines, which would be done simultaneously with the drilling of the well. The project also caters for the erection of a trestle with storage tanks and the installation of a photovoltaic system.
Toshao of Jawalla, Verron Henry, has said villagers are anxiously awaiting the completion of the project. She explained that, as things stand, people walk long distances to fetch water from the Kamarang River, which has become polluted over the years due to mining activities.