The colour of water running through the taps of city homes is expected to improve by weekend with the expected arrival of a shipment of alum for the Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC).

Minister of Housing and Water, Shaik Baksh, gave this assurance, during a media briefing on Monday afternoon, at which he also outlined the cause for the abnormal colour.

The minister, according to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), explained that a depletion in the stocks of alum at GS&WC was because that agency had to assist the communities of Linden and Bartica.

According to the release, the minister assured the consuming public that they had not been put at any risk of receiving contaminated water since the normal procedure of purifying it had been ongoing even after the GS&WC ran out of alum.

One ton of the product, the release stated, had been ordered from a Jamaican company in October, but due to shipping difficulties, the supplies were late in arriving.

GS&WC, according to the release, had stated that the agency had resorted to what was called 'blending,' which involved using water from the Lamaha Canal and the Shelter Belt. However, at that time the former was said to have been discoloured, resulting in what has been coming out of city taps.

Areas affected by the discoloured water included Queenstown, Bourda, Stabroek, Newtown Kitty, and Kitty, Charlestown, Lacytown, Bel Air, Alberttown, Wortmanville and Werk-en-Rust.