Harare cuts water production

Some Harare residents will go for weeks without running water as Lake Chivero – the city’s main source – has become so polluted that treatment is now futile.
Consumers will receive 450 mega-litres per day, down from 550, with Borrowdale, Hatcliffe, Mabvuku and Tafara suburbs being the worst affected.
At last week’s Full Council Meeting, Harare Water Director Engineer Christopher Zvobgo said, “We have reduced the production levels from 550 to 450 mega-liters due to the poor quality of water in Lake Chivero. We feel the water is not fit for human consumption even after treatment.
“The raw water is very smelly and is green in colour, and this has affected output production. The situation is likely to return to normal when the rains begin to fall as this will help improve the quality of the raw water.”
Harare needs at least 900 mega-liters of water daily, but has been producing and distributing 550 mega-liters only due to financial and infrastructural resource constraints.
It has also been battling water pollution, with a 2014 survey by the Environmental Management Agency showing that council was the main culprit.
Harare topped the pollution list, discharging 3 885 mega-litres of raw sewage into water sources daily, with Bulawayo in second position at 13 mega-litres per day.
In 2013, Masvingo was convicted of and fined for discharging raw sewage into Shagashe River, while Chinhoyi Municipality’s case is still before the courts.
Ema also determined that raw sewage leaks through dilapidated pipe networks flows directly into water sources.
Lake Chivero is downstream of the capital, meaning effluent ends up there.
Ema spokesperson Mr Steady Kangata told The Sunday Mail last week: “Local authorities have to make sure their sewer treatment plants are fully functional because the partially treated effluent is becoming costly for councils to treat, thereby affecting service delivery.
“We have given Harare City Council orders not to release effluent into water bodies, but they are still not there in terms of complying with the order.
“There is also need for the council to attend to burst sewer pipes timeously because the city’s catchment areas are downstream, making it easy for effluent to find its way into water bodies.”