– access to potable water in Guyana now at 98.4%
A state-of-the-art water treatment plant was commissioned on Saturday at Cummings Lodge, Greater Georgetown – a facility that will see more than 10,000 residents there and from surrounding communities benefitting from enhanced water quality and supply. The new Cummings Lodge Water Treatment Plant was constructed to the tune of $1.3 billion and features a high-capacity design capable of treating 12 million litres per day (MLD), with a storage capacity of 3.6 million litres. The plant is fully automated and controlled by a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which provides real-time monitoring and control over the entire treatment and distribution process. To ensure a stable and reliable supply, the plant is also equipped with four high-efficiency booster pumps for stable supply pressure to the distribution network. Delivering the feature address at the commissioning ceremony, President Dr Irfaan Ali underscored the importance of water to daily lives. “It is indispensable. We use it for drinking, washing, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and farming. We use it to build our homes, to power industries, to grow our food, and to sustain our lives,” he noted.
According to the Head of State, while water is a silent partner in everything, it is often taken for granted even though billions of dollars of investment are being made to ensure that the water gets to homes across the country. In fact, he noted that his Government has injected more than $51 billion in the last five years alone in capital works at the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to ensure that not only water flows through the tap but it is clean, reliable, and safe. “While rainwater is free, potable water is not. It is a product of planning, of technology, of skilled work, and of billions in investment. And your Government has made those investments because we understand that access to clean water is not a privilege, it is a right,” he stated. Noting that potable water comes at a very high cost with the pumps, electricity, the chemicals for treatment, the skilled staff, and the maintenance, President Ali assured of his Government’s commitment to continues to subsidising water for citizens.
Potable water access
With the removal of taxes on water and the restoration of subsidies for senior citizens, coupled with the heavy investments by Government, the Head of State noted that water access across the country has significantly improved over the last five years. “National access to portable water has now reached 98.4 per cent of our population, one of the highest in the Caribbean. And understand this, when you go to the hinterland and the riverine areas, communities hundreds of miles apart, we still have to take water [there]. There are many countries in a developed world that would not do that… In the hinterland and riverine areas, access has doubled to approximately 92 per cent now and is projected to get to 96 per cent by next year,” he declared. This, the Guyanese leader stated, is the direct result of deliberate policy, strategic investment, and the hard work of the GWI team, which has drilled 152 new wells between 2020 and 2024 – most of them in the hinterland regions.
Additionally, some 200 kilometres (km) of new transmission and distribution mains were laid, expanding supply to thousands of homes. Seven new large treatment plants were also built, 13 others upgraded, and 18 small community treatment systems constructed – all to bring treated water to more than 250,000 Guyanese for the first time. According to President Ali, they are not stopping here. “By the end of next year, we expect to be much closer to our goal of 100 per cent treated water coverage along the coast. Just think about that and what that means. It translates to almost every home, every school, every hospital, every business on the coast having access to treated water. That is not a dream. That is a plan in motion. Of course, it is not just about access. It is about quality and reliability.”
In fact, the Head of State pointed out that the treatment of customers is critical to the success of the water sector, noting that his Government will not tolerate the mistreatment of people or the inefficient management of the water system.
“We are investing too much money to have that type of behaviour be the bottleneck for this sector,” the President noted – a view that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GWI, Shaik Baksh, also shared.
Enhancing customer service
Baksh pointed out that the increasing demand in water supply bolstered by nearly 60 new housing schemes developed across the country, is posing problems for GWI. Having met largely deteriorated infrastructure and distribution systems in 2020, the water company over the last five years, guided by Government’s strategic plan, has been working to enhance delivery services and water quality – something which they are closer to achieving. But according to the GWI Head, this requires a greater level of efficiency and production at GWI. The company has already restructured some of the departments including its operations department to ensure level of service of water and water quality is delivered to customers.
“I’m not happy with what is taking place with the complaints by customers and the delivery of quality service to the population as a whole, and we are initiating several changes to turn around this area and ensuring we use the new technology that is available… At the regional levels, changes are being made there to ensure great efficiency in operations rezoning some of the regions and to ensure that is done, put in more competent staff so that we have a faster response to customer complaints response time, to ensure that leakages in the network are dealt with. We are very much aware of these issues and we move in head-on to remedy these things as we proceed.” He added, “So, GWI is on the move and we want to assure the public with the Government’s support that we will ensure a greater level of service better quality of service to the population both in terms of the coverage of treated water as well as the level of service to the households.”
Meanwhile, Public Utilities and Aviation Minister, Deodat Indar, in his remarks at Saturday’s commissioning ceremony stated that the water treatment plant represents a commitment fulfilled by the Ali-led Administration. He also highlighted the investments in the water sector in Georgetown from 2020 to present.
“The Government has invested $5.7 billion in Georgetown alone in ensuring upgrades were made to the city’s potable water infrastructure network,” he posited. The New Cummings Lodge Water Treatment Plant was constructed by Sigma Engineers Ltd with a team comprising dozens of Guyanese staff. Two additional wells are currently being drilled at the Cummings Lodge Water Treatment plant, which will provide raw water to be processed at the new facility.
Contracts valued at GYD $600 million were also awarded and completed for the construction of 13.5 km of new transmission mains to serve residents that aim to provide a high level of service and enhanced water quality. The plant is expected to serve over 10,000 residents from Cummings Lodge, Cummings Park, North Ruimveldt, South Ruimveldt Park, South Ruimveldt Gardens, Lamaha Springs, Lamaha Park, Festival City, Tucville, Stevedore, and along Heroes Highway.
This project falls under the Guyana Government’s Coastal Water Treatment Infrastructure Programme (CWTIP) – a $40 billion initiative to increase treated water coverage to 90 per cent by the end of 2025. The CWTIP is constructing seven new large water treatment plants, 15 small plants, upgrading 12 existing plants, and installing 200 km of transmission mains to improve water quality, continuity, and level of service in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six. The New Cummings Lodge Water Treatment Plant is one of three new plants constructed in Region Four, the others being at Bachelor’s Adventure, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and Caledonia, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
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