A SHIPMENT of 1,000 tonnes of aluminum sulphate, or alum, used to remove the dark colour from water supplied to some parts of the city, has arrived.

The Georgetown Sewerage and Water Commissioners (GS&WC) ran out of alum stocks last month and residents in several wards had been receiving discoloured water through taps.

Operations Manager of GS&WC, Mr. David Dewar told the 'Chronicle' Wednesday that the alum shipment arrived Friday and employees immediately began work to restore the water to its normal colour.

This shipment, he stated, is expected to last three months.

Two weeks ago, the alum the GS&WC had in stock to last until the end of this year ran out because of the late arrival of a shipment from Jamaica.

Its stock had also depleted because some alum was supplied to Linden and Bartica, officials said last week.

Dewar assured that this problem will not occur in the future, and a decision has been taken not to assist these two regions with shipments of alum because it is the Guyana Water Authority's (GUYWA) responsibility to provide these areas with supplies of the chemical.

At an emergency news conference last week, Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Shaik Baksh said he would not tolerate that type of mismanagement from the GS&WC, and warned that this problem should not occur in the future.