Fresh Water Resources
Guyana is well known for its expansive network of rivers, streams, reservoirs and drainage canals, providing an abundance of surface and ground water throughout the country for agriculture, industries and domestic uses. Many while travelling, have marveled at the Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo Rivers and their tributaries carving through the terrain in this ‘land of many waters’.
This prized resource, freshwater, is held in numerous surface and ground water systems in varying quantities and in some cases based on seasonal variations. Surface water resources occur within the Coastal Lowlands, Interior Plains, Western Highlands, Southern Uplands and Southwest Savannahs. Ground water is also abundant in coastal and inland aquifers, with most of the population relying on coastal aquifers for ground water supply.
Pressures on Freshwater Resources
The EPA remains firm on its mandate to ensure that developmental activities are authorised, thus being given the necessary conditions to safeguard the health of freshwater ecosystems. Some pressures on our freshwater resources:
1. Changing population dynamics;
2. Views on the value of freshwater;
3. Consumption of food;
4. Economic policies;
5. Technology; and
6. General lifestyle are all drivers of changes in water use.
Some areas of concern
With the majority of the population (90%) residing on the coast, biological and chemical contamination of surface water are highest in these areas. Salt water invasion from the Atlantic Ocean also affects coastal water quality. Private water users are largely unmonitored, leading to over exploitation of aquifers. GWI data from 2010 to 2014, indicate turbidity and total fecal coliform levels above WHO standards for coastal aquifers. Targeting such uncontrolled use is very important as Guyana is expected to experience higher temperatures and reduced precipitation levels, limiting water available for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. The quantity and quality of freshwater resources are influenced:
1. Land-use change;
2. Construction and management of reservoirs;
3. Pollutant emissions;
4. Water and wastewater treatment; and
5. Climate change.
Reported estimates of water withdrawal indicate that the greatest demand for water is from domestic, agricultural, mining and industrial purposes. Consequently, significant pressures are created from untreated waste, chemicals, and sediments being released into waterways, as a result of absent or inadequate systems for the treatment of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste and proper tailings management.
Impacts on Freshwater Resources
The known pressures, present numerous economic, health, social and environmental impacts. Limited and reduced access to groundwater resources result in the use of surface water sources which usually require treatment. Treatment of surface water can be expensive and, and the quality of the raw water determines the required type of treatment. Many coastal dwellers purchase drinking water from private suppliers. However, this option would represent a cost intensive alternative for the hinterland population who depend heavily on inland groundwater sources.
Health issues from contaminated potable water supply remains a concern in both coastal and inland communities. Residents resorting to untreated water from creeks and rivers in the absence of adequate groundwater sources and lack of regulation of private water suppliers present an increased risk of acute diarrheal diseases. Surface water throughout Guyana serves as important ecosystems by providing a medium for habitat, food, and reproduction for aquatic life forms especially fishes, macro-invertebrates, plants, mammals, birds, herpetofauna, microbes, and drinking water for humans. Therefore, contamination from effluent discharge, runoffs and other waste inputs can cause these ecosystems to become unstable. You may remember the fish kills and mortality of other organisms during the OMAI cyanide spill of 1995.
Responses
Local policies and plans as well as, international obligations support the protection of freshwater ecosystems. In 2015, the Government decided that the National Water Council (NWC) as stipulated under the Water and Sewage Act 2002, should be resuscitated which would see the development of a National Water Policy. Legislation such as the Water and Sewerage Act, Environmental Protection Act, Mining Act, and the East Demerara Water Conservancy Act, work together to regulate development in an effort to safeguard the environment and its resources. Guyana is also signatory to a number of international laws, protocols, agreements and declarations that place obligations on the government to manage water and land based resources. These include the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Basel Convention for the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal, to name a few.
If you wish to know more about the state and trends of Fresh Water Resources in Guyana, you can download the State of the Environment Report 2016 from the EPA’s website, www.epaguyana.org
You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O ECEA Programme, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: [email protected] or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
