Water woes leave city high and dry
Stabroek News
March 29, 2003
Three broken wells, low water levels in the Lamaha Canal and the current power rationing have all conspired to leave Georgetown residents high and dry.
Several sections in Georgetown have over the past couple of days been experiencing critical water shortages, and authorities at Guyana Water Inc (GWI) point to broken wells at Kingston and at the Shelter Belt.
Engineers and technicians, according to a company official, are currently working on the problems which they see as being corrected early next week.
Along with the non-functioning of the wells, supplies normally boosted by the Shelter Belt, are said to be experiencing low pressure.
Current water stocks are, according to the official, very low and are compounding the problem as the low output from the wells could not be made up by surface water.
The six-hour blackout schedule was also cited as a contributing factor since reliable power was not there.
Around 50% of the city's water supply is accessed via a series of wells, while the remaining 50% comes from surface supplies through the Lamaha Canal.
Meanwhile the Cheddi Jagan Dental centre, was affected by the absence of a ready supply of water yesterday resulting in several patients being turned away.
Some in visible agony had to contemplate the possibility of having to wait until Monday before having a bad tooth removed.
