Communities on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD), including De Kinderen, Meten-Meer-Zorg and De Willem, have been without potable water for the past few weeks, and there has reportedly been no satisfactory word forthcoming from the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
A pipe without water
According to reports received, water pressure has been consistently low, creating a situation of acute discomfort and inconvenience to residents.
The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) had reportedly advised affected residents that the matter is being investigated, but results of this investigation are yet to be made known.
Contacted, GWI has said no issue has been detected at the pump station suppling the affected areas. Officials reportedly believe there might have been a breakage in the water distribution network, and GWI had assured residents that a team of engineers would be assigned to investigate the situation. To date, however, the unsatisfactory situation persists.
“The water pressure has been so low that I had to loose down my pipe from the stand to get (it) to a lower height, and then I use small containers to literally place on the ground to get a little water. That’s how desperate I am…
“Doing that takes me a good 30 minutes to get a small bucket of water… It is very frustrating, and today (Sunday) no water at all (has flowed). I don’t know how much more of this I can take. This is the weekend, when I need to get all of my chores done before the new week. Now all of my dirty clothes pile up, my house is a mess…I don’t have water to do anything,” one DeKinderen resident complained.
Another DeKinderen resident had recently complained of having to purchase water in order to complete chores. According to that woman, she is currently constructing a home and, as such, the water system is the only means by which she can get water.
“I don’t have any water tanks or water barrels or anything at the moment, so I have no other means of getting water other than from the pipes. And since they aren’t working, I literally have to purchase bottled water to shower and do dishes and so on, and that is not cheap at all! It’s a struggle,” that resident complained.
“You know how I get water right now? When the pipe come on, I does full up a barrel, because I know it don’t stay on too long… Imagine, this is what we paying for, and GWI don’t make joke to send water bill. Every month it reaching at your house right on time,” Victor, a Meten-Meer-Zorg resident, noted.
The affected residents are calling on GWI to quickly identify and fix the problem, so they might be relieved of this burdensome situation.
