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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
CONSTRUCTION of the Kunzvi Dam northeast of Harare is progressing well with over 37 percent of the work now done and it is set to be completed by the end of next year.
The US$109 million project will augment Harare’s water supplies and provide direct feed to the northern and eastern suburbs which suffer the worst water shortages since they are furthest from Morton Jaffray Waterworks and lakes Chivero and Manyame.
The work is now nearing the stage where a pump station, water treatment plant and pipeline will be able to send treated water directly into the northern and eastern suburbs of Harare, and probably as far south as Chitungwiza, which is also on the higher eastern side of Harare Metropolitan, and is connected to the largest reservoir complex at Letombo in Msasa, although this has been allowed to run down over the last 20 plus years.
Kunzvi Dam is the first Harare water supply dam which is not on the Manyame River catchment area. It is also on the opposite side of the metropolitan area from Morton Jaffray Waterworks and lakes Chivero and Manyame. The dam will be able to serve the higher altitude areas furthest from that waterworks.
The left bank of the dam is now 8m above the ground and engineers were doing backfilling and compacting while at the right bank, the engineers were doing grouting. The dam wall, like many other dam walls, including that of the larger Chivero Dam, is earth filled. The engineers were also putting a riprap which protects the dam wall against waves and direct erosion.
Kunzvi Dam resident engineer Daveson Madondo said the dam was over 37 percent complete and it will be completed by the end of next year.
“At the moment we are doing excavations on the right bank side and it includes the foundation of the tunnel and the outlet,” he said.
“On the left bank side, we are doing backfilling and deep excavations. We are also doing grouting on part of the left band side as we approach the river. Grouting involves the pumping of cement water solution into the rocks to seal all the fissures which are underground.
“The only challenge that we are having is that we have some people who are settled on the dam centre line and when these people are resettled, we will then be fully operational the work on the centreline. The evaluation has already been done and we are waiting for the report.”
Kunzvi Dam was planned decades ago but was continuously postponed mainly over financing and a false belief that the existing water sources were adequate.
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