Improved water supply for Five Mile, Bartica

Bartica residents can expect an improvement in the quality of water supply as well as other services offered though the Ministry of Housing. On Thursday, Minister Collin Croal met with residents in the township to government’s plans of upgrading and improving the quality of water provided among other things.

The township has been plagued with water woes for sometime but during a meeting with residents, Minister Croal explained that officials of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) stationed in the region have indicated that circumstances have complicated the transmission of water to the Five Mile community.

As a result of this, GWI was forced to put alternative measures in place to have the water reach to the patrons residing in that community. “[GWI] had to increase the capacity intake of the water flow from the river to the purification plant to allow more water flowing in so that they can pump more out [to you],” Croal detailed.

Croal said, however, that due to the fact that the Five Mile community is situated over a hill, there has been much difficulty in providing water to the residents there. As a remedy for this, Croal noted that his ministry has intentions of purchasing a “booster pump”. “A booster pump is required to be placed here in 4 Miles…so that [the water] can be pumped over to 5 Miles,” Croal noted.

This pump costs some $30 Million.

Residents in the Five Mile community have been complaining for a number of years about the shortage of water provided in the area, as well as the quality of the water that is provided. “The water is very much the colour and there are a whole lot of sediments in it,” one senior citizen who was present at the outreach described. “…when the water come through the taps, sometimes it get green leaves, sometime it get dry leaves and all these things. Now I have to depend on rain water to cook and all them things,” she mentioned.

There are about 800 households in the communities of Four Miles and Five Miles.

Croal assured residents that this issue is expected to be fixed in about three months and asked that the residents be patient with the authorities as they look to source the equipment from overseas.