GWI chief executive seeks to resolve service challenges in bath settlement, West Coast Berbice

Image 2 Dr Van West Charles CE of GWI meeting with residents of Bath Settlement at a community meeting

Georgetown :  Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), the Nation’s supplier of Water and Sanitation Services says that following complaints from customers of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice about a reduction in the level of service provided to the community, Chief Executive, GWI, Dr. Van West-Charles held a meeting with the leaders of the community as well as affected residents. 

 

Customers of Bath Settlement visited the GWI Customer Services location at West Coast Berbice on Monday October 12 to enquire about the recent decrease in the level of water service within the community.  Following this, Chief Executive Dr. Van West-Charles held a meeting at the home of an affected resident on Monday evening.  

 

Residents indicated that due to the prolonged dry season, a significant amount of water provided by GWI is currently being utilized for Agricultural purposes including small ‘kitchen gardens’ and ‘cash crops’  Residents explained that in the absence of consistent rainfall, GWI’s service is utilized for both Agricultural and domestic purposes. 

 

Dr. Van West-Charles explained that this practice has decreased the amount of water available in the distribution system for domestic purposes.   

 

The Chief Executive proposed that customers and GWI’s West Coast Berbice team agree on specific times in which GWI’s service will be utilized exclusively for Agricultural purposes as well as particular hours in which the service will be used for domestic purposes.  ‘It is pivotal that customers utilizing the service for both purposes receive an adequate supply at specific times of the day,’ stated Dr. Van West-Charles, ‘I have tasked the GWI team with coordinating with residents the schedule which will be utilized to provide adequate water for these specific tasks which are both vital to the community’.  The residents agreed with the suggestion. 

 

Residents of Bath Settlement present at the meeting welcomed the intervention by Dr. Van West-Charles and agreed to partner with the GWI West Coast Berbice in formulating a water distribution schedule which would benefit all members of the community.  

 

Further, the GWI Chief Executive indicated that he is exploring utilizing an electrical pump with a larger capacity to increase the level of distribution to customers of Bath Settlement.  The CE indicated that he has committed the GWI Operations team to explore increasing the capacity of the well station which provides service to the community and increasing the pumping hours.