Director General of Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon and Managing Director of GWI Dr Richard Van West-Charles unveiling the plaque at the commissioning of the Uitvlugt water treatment plant
February 24,2020
A newly-commissioned water treatment plant at Uitvlugt will be benefitting almost 22,000 residents in 10 communities on the West Coast of Demerara.
The plant was commissioned yesterday by the Managing Director of Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Dr. Richard Van West-Charles and the Director General of the Ministry of Presidency Joseph Harmon.
Van West-Charles said the Uitvlugt plant is part of the Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure Improvement Programme, which is aimed at improving pressure, quality and continuity of the water supply service from Cornelia Ida to De Kinderen and reduce the level of non-revenue water to those areas. In addition, the project seeks to improve access to adequate sanitation in the programme areas and strengthen GWI’s performance in its operational and management of water supply practices.
Apart from Utivlugt, the areas that will benefit from the plant are Hague Back, Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina, Leonora, Stewartville, Zeeburg, De Willem, Met-en-meerzorg and De Kinderen, which account for 21,940 residents.
With the operationalisation of the plant, Van West-Charles stated, those residents will no longer have to purchase bottled water as their supply will be safe for drinking and household usage since it will be treated and be free from contaminants. “GWI is putting water quality at the centre of what we do and this is only part of what comes to Region Three,” he said before telling residents to work along with GWI and report of there is any leakage in the system. “Once there are leaks, there is a compromise of the water quality,” he stressed.
The new plant will also deliver improved service pressure and will provide residents with “reliable services” 24/7. The treatment scheme of the new plant is aeration, sedimentation, filtration, chlorination, storage and distribution and Van west-Charles noted that no chemicals will be required for treatment. There are automated water quality monitoring systems, sludge ponds, which will reduce environmental impact and the plant will independently supply water to sections of network. He said that GWI officials will be monitoring the plant’s operations on a 24/7 basis from Georgetown using ICT.
In addition, 125 new septic tanks units are currently under construction for improving sanitation access for poor families in the communities mentioned, while 3,842 water meters were installed to reduce the wastage of water. Sixteen district meters were also established to increase revenues of GWI and pipes, service lines, and trench crossings were all repaired to improve leakage management. Advanced pressure management systems were also added and they are expected to reduce water losses by 3,000m³ a day.
Van West-Charles also revealed that similar plants at Diamond and Sheet Anchor will be commissioned at a later date although they are currently functioning. He said the total cost for the entire project is US$31,676,500 with the Uitvlugt Plant, which was constructed by Sinohydro Corporation Limited, costing US$6,100,464.
Meanwhile, Harmon applauded Van West-Charles for making the provision of quality water to all Guyanese a priority.
The project was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union (EU).