GWI to focus on water quality and metering as its revenue collection climbs in 2017

GWI to focus on water quality and metering as its revenue collection climbs in 2017

The Guyana Water Inc. has announced that it collected 12% more revenue in 2017 when compared to 2016. However, more work will be done to ensure the entire country is metered and illegal water connections are turned off.

GWI’s Managing Director, Dr. Van West Charles, told journalists on Friday that in 2018 the utility company will be moving to ensure more customers are metered with the aim of ensuring the entire country fall within the metered bracket.

This move he explained will help GWI reduce non-revenue losses which it continues to encounter.

The Managing Director said, already, GWI is paying close attention to car wash establishments and has been metering those premises. The metering in these cases, is also mandatory for premises located to the front, back, and sides of wash bays.

“So, if you want to give the wash bays water from your supply you too will have to pay,” he warned.

Dr. Van West Charles said GWI was able to increase its revenue because of the expansion that has taken place over the last year which includes more accurate zoning of regions.

He decried, however, the continued theft of water by persons who continue to take water illegally.

The GWI Boss said, “a good spectrum” of people continue to steal water and it occurs in areas where there is squatting and by people who live in poverty.

Nonetheless, he assured that efforts will be made to discontinue this practice.

 The Managing Director offered an apology to the residents of Sophia over the conditions that beleaguered their access to high-quality potable water for several years.

The apology came as the GWI Boss reminded of the construction of a reinforced concrete foundation for the storage tank at Sophia.

Dr. Charles said while this will improve the quality of water provided to those residents, he believed an apology was necessary.

He was at the time delivering remarks at GWI’s year-end press conference in which he also announced the construction of an access road at Sophia WTP, totaling $1.7 million.

The Managing Director also reminded of other works that occurred in regions across the country but said it is to be regretted the conditions under which residents in Sophia got water and was happy that the situation was improving.

He focused heavily on water production and quality in 2017, saying it was almost impossible for GWI to provide 24 hours service at this time.

He explained that the company will move to increase its wells and reservoir capability to correct this.

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