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Herald Reporter
HARARE City Council says it has installed close to 2 000 prepaid water meters under its pilot project.
Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme told Star FM that the meters were installed in nine suburbs.
“I am happy to say we are having a very successful pilot project of the prepaid smart water meters.
“So far we have installed the prepaid smart meters in Picnic Park Waterfalls, Letombo, Greendale, Budiriro 3, Sunningdale 3, the Avenues, parts of Bluffhill, parts of Rhodesville and the Greendale area which covers Rhodesville and Letombo.
In February, council awarded tenders to five local companies to install prepaid water meters, associated connections and meter management systems.
Mr Chideme said they were assessing the effectiveness of the meters.
Adjudication will follow on which companies will finally be contracted to supply and install the meters.
He said the process would be completed between October and November this year, before rolling out the project.
“The response is very overwhelming in terms of the attitude of the residents who have received these meters. We have seen people making repairs for leaks in their water pipes as a measure of conserving the prepaid water. They know if there is a leak, they lose money.
“People are now more conscious of what they need to do in terms of conservation. The issue of water abuse has now gone down in a great way. People are telling us that they are now recycling water while others are saying water is now cheaper on a prepaid metered system unlike the monthly billing system.”
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