GWI upgrading pipes around the city
-customers to benefit from increased level of service
Guyana Water Inc (GWI) customers around Central Georgetown can expect an increased level of service as the Utility has been working on upgrading its aged pipe infrastructure around the city.
According to a GWI release, the company has been dealing with this issue for over the past two and a half years in addition to working to incrementally replace pipelines that make up the Georgetown network.
The majority of the city’s water supply network is made up of cast iron and asbestos cement pipes that have become encrusted over decades and have exceeded their lifespan. The utility said that these pipelines are over 100 years old, and as a result, there is also high iron content being released, compromising the water quality.
The company is now replacing the cast iron and asbestos cement pipes with Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes that pose a decreased chance of encrustation.
Upon completion of the works, GWI said its customers can expect an improved level of service and water quality, and as further work is executed in adjacent communities, the full benefits will be experienced in the entire area.
As it relates to Sheriff Street, the utility said that the existing pipelines are currently being replaced, forming part of the ongoing road expansion works, with some 500 meters installed so far. Upon completion, the pipelines from the junction of Sheriff Street and the East Coast Demerara Public Road to Cross Street, Alexander Village would be replaced.
GWI added that the Albouystown community is also one where old asbestos mains that are porous and tuberculated – the development of small mounds of corrosion products on the inside of iron pipes – are found.
To date, they have installed new pipelines on James Street from Saffon Street to the clinic in the area. A new phase of the project is scheduled to begin on July 9, and those works will entail the installation of pipelines along the remainder of James Street and the cross streets.
On the other side of the city, works are ongoing to improve the level of service to customers around Vlissengen Road with the installation of new transmission mains and the replacement of distribution mains in a number of areas between Lamaha Street and GWI’s head office on Vlissengen Road.
GWI is also working on replacing transmission mains on Church Street, and this project, which is still in its planning stage, will entail the installation of some 2000 metres of pipelines.
However, during the interconnection of the pipelines, customers in Central Georgetown will experience a reduced level of service for a short period of time in order to facilitate the work, the company said.
It added that the replacement of the pipelines will allow the new lines to be placed closer to the fence line as opposed to under roadways, which will make them more accessible for repairs in the future.
Upon completion of the installation of pipelines in the various areas, the company said that they will be utilising Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies to map all of their assets including gate valves, so that they can have precise information on their location for future use and access.
“An essential aspect of pipeline rehabilitation is the maintenance of the integrity of water quality during and following completion of the works. During the excavation and laying of pipelines, there is the possibility of an open end through which contaminants may enter,” GWI said, while noting that this may also occur during the actual placement of the lines, but there are ways to rid the lines of whatever contamination that may have entered.
As a result, the company said, flushing of the pipelines is a commonly used means of expulsion of sand and clay, as well as Shock Chlorination (disinfection at high dosages) that is done to target microbial contamination; which entails filling the lines with heavily chlorinated water for a period of eight to 24 hours.
After this procedure, the pipe is then flushed out until a free chlorine residue of one milligram per litre is achieved, and a sample is taken to assess the microbial quality. Once there is no indication of contamination, the laboratory approves the interconnections to the existing network.
GWI also stated that the city’s aged infrastructure has developed numerous breakages within recent years that have resulted in millions of dollars of losses to the company.
The Utility said that when breakages occur, there are lengthy disruptions to the water supply since successful repairs require the Shelterbelt Water Treatment Plant to be shut down during that period, and further, breakages can also compromise water pressure and water quality.
“As the water production is increased in the city, the way is paved for the water pressure to be increased, which can cause breakages as well,” GWI added, while disclosing that so far for the year, there has been 34 major breakages in Central Georgetown, 19 of which can be attributed to the aged infrastructure and the remaining 15 to external factors, the release added.