Copyright stabroeknews
On October 25th the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) boldly declared that the water flowing through the taps of homes of Stevedore Housing Scheme “…is clear and the iron content met WHO standards…”.At the time the GWI was responding to a letter written to this newspaper by Stevedore Housing Scheme resident Ms Roshawna Pilgrim and published on October 24th. Ms Pilgrim, who described herself as a single mother, said she was frustrated and concerned about the ongoing issue of dirty water from her tap. “Every day, I have to struggle to find clean water for my children to drink, bathe and cook with. It is heartbreaking and unfair that in this day and age, we are still forced to use water that is brown, has a bad smell, and often causes skin irritation and sickness,” the mother wrote. She added that she could not afford to buy bottled water all the time and called on the authorities to take “urgent” action as clean water is not a luxury but rather “a basic human need and right…. We deserve better living conditions and should not have to beg for something as essential as safe water.” GWI, while stating that it has been supported by significant government investments in water treatment facilities nationwide, quickly dispatched a technical team to the Stevedore Housing Scheme to investigate the quality of water on the very day the letter was published. The team duly collected water samples from several households, including Ms Pilgrim’s. Its rebuttal, also fired off on the same day, concluded: “It was discovered that the water flowing from the standpipes of each household, including Ms Pilgrim’s, is clear and that the iron content met WHO standards, contrary to the assertions made by her in the Stabroek News letter.” The water company added that the scheme was being served by the recently commissioned New Cummings Lodge Water Treatment Plant, which was designed to treat 12 million litres of water per day. Perhaps GWI expected applause, but there is no slow, or fast clap for its seeming efficiency. The company should first question why a single mother would take the time not only to pen a letter to the newspaper decrying the quality of water flowing through her tap, but also affix her name to the letter. She could have asked that her name be withheld, as has been done many times by others. Or she could have used a fictitious name. But she obviously didn’t because the investigating team found her. This single mother must have been having some issues to pen that letter. Have the powers that be at GWI considered that just maybe for the short span of time (and it would have been short because a letter was fired off in time to catch the next day’s edition of the newspaper) the water appeared clear. Hours earlier or later it may have been a different story. Nowhere in the GWI’s missive did it say if its team conducted interviews with other residents to ascertain whether they corroborated or contradicted Ms Pilgrim’s claim. However, now that it has expeditiously concluded that investigation, maybe GWI would want to look into why most of its customers do not drink the water flowing through their taps. Those that do, like Ms Pilgrim at times, cannot afford to purchase the large blue bottles of water. So they are forced to consume the water with a prayer in their hearts that there will be no adverse effects. While they are in investigative mode, perhaps the water company could explore why its customers are forced to buy black tanks to enhance their water supply. It can’t be because they have money to waste. Of course, with the black tanks come the cost of a pressure pump because without that many customers will be unable to have water flowing through their taps in their homes Can GWI send a team to analyse why some consumers are forced to time their water pressure if they are to be able to do their daily chores? Maybe it is worth researching why there are others who get no water at all for days. Then there are those customers on the East Coast of Demerara who face a daily battle to even keep their dishes clean because of the heavy iron content in their water. The struggle is real in those and other areas and the GWI has to be tone deaf to believe that customers are happy with the service they receive. ‘City residents up in arms over poor quality of water’, ‘Hubu residents fed up with poor quality of water’, ‘Iron to be blamed for poor water quality at Wakenaam, Tuschen – GWI’, ‘Unprecedented sedimentation at EDWC fouled city’s water’ and ‘We need a better service from GWI for our money’ are just a few of the headlines one can find in this newspaper if they conduct an investigation. While it claims that it recognizes that “access to clean water is a human right” GWI should bow its proverbial head in shame because it is certainly not providing that human right. Instead of looking to ‘shame’ Ms Pilgrim (no doubt she is more frustrated than ashamed) the water company should be working day and night to ensure that the basic ‘human right’ is provided and not looking to cover its shortcomings with shaky ‘investigations’. GWI’s service is the cause of many citizens’ frustration, like Ms Pilgrim, and reduces their quality of life. The time has come and long gone for the water company to really step up and provide each and every citizen with that basic human right: water. So, while its team ran out and did an ‘investigation’ on Ms Pilgrim’s cry for assistance there will be no applause. The Guyanese population will give that slow clap when they can all receive clean water consistently through their taps.
