Govt to de-commission boreholes

been treated at council clinics.
In an interview, Harare health services director Dr Prosper Chonzi said some of the boreholes likely to be sealed off include those situated near graveyards in Warren Park.
He, however, said not all contaminated boreholes will be sealed off as some of them are in areas which hardly get tap water supplies.
City authorities last month indicated that there are more than 20 000 boreholes in Harare with just 3 500 on the council database. This means most boreholes were drilled without council approval, raising fears they were improperly sited and could be contaminated.
Some of these boreholes set for de-commissioning are said to have been sunk near sewer lines. Boreholes should be sunk about 30 metres away from dump sites, graveyards and sewer pipes.
Since the sewer reticulation system is no longer intact, there is bound to be contamination of borehole water and sewage through seepage.
According to the City Council, about 50 percent of boreholes in Harare are contaminated with either faecal material or metal content.
Commenting on typhoid outbreak, Dr Chonzi said although cases are now decreasing, the outbreak is spreading to other areas like Glen View.
“Last week, we had 60 cases of typhoid at a school in Glen View, but we managed to contain it,” he said.
Dr Chonzi said with assistance from partners, council clinics in affected areas are now testing for typhoid as one presents with symptoms to the clinic.
Typhoid started last year around December in Warren Park and the source of the outbreak was traced to be a borehole at the suburb’s polyclinic.