Andrew
Sharleen Mohammad
IT is that time of the year, when drains clog and streets in the central business district (CBD) flood once it rains. Residents and motorists are subjected to anguish as they spend hours locked in traffic congestion, as roads become unnavigable.
Year after year, the City of Harare officials promise a lasting solution to the problem but are often forced to swallow their words.
Currently, flooding is extending beyond the CBD, with suburbs such as Highfield, Glen View, Mbare, Kambuzuma and Warren Park facing the same challenges.
Environmental authorities are worried about this state of affairs.
According to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), annual flood losses are expected to double by 2030 if no measures are taken to lessen the burden on the drainage systems.
EMA’s environmental education and publicity manager Ms Amkela Sidange said the council needs to clear clogged drains before the rainy season gets into full swing.
“As EMA, we get seized with the issue of poor waste management that leads to clogging of the storm drains, resulting in flash floods,” said Ms Sidange.
Ms Sidange said, when these drains clog, it becomes an environmental concern as water that collects can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes and disease-causing vectors.
She said the clogging is often due to poor management of waste.
Section 73 of the Zimbabwe Constitution states that every Zimbabwean has a right to a clean environment, which is not harmful to health.
Harare-based urban planner Mr Shingai Kawadza said the recurring flooding on the streets of Harare occurs due to clogged storm water drains, which are a result of poor management by the Harare City Council (HCC).
“Drainage clearance must be done periodically as those in the informal sector, especially vendors, are daily littering the drainage system. A collaborative approach from all concerned stakeholders is critical in keeping the city’s drainage system clear,” said Mr Kawadza.
He said clean-up campaigns, particularly the monthly drive launched by President Mnangagwa in 2018, must also be taken seriously as they are crucial to the well-being of the environment.
“The President led the way but I don’t think Harare City Council is implementing that policy to the fullest. They need to implement it vigorously,” he said.
“Council must also encourage water harvesting so as to reduce floods.
The city’s buildings are designed with rooftops that direct rainfall to the ground and tarmac surfaces, thereby putting a strain on the existing drainage system,” added Mr Kawadza.
Another urban planner, Mr Terence Machisa, concurred, saying that storm drains, in both the CBD and residential areas, are frequently blocked due to littering and lack of maintenance.
“HCC should up its game in terms of refuse collection in residential areas as failure to do so has resulted in residents dumping waste everywhere, including drainage systems,” said Mr Machisa.
“We need to learn from what other countries are doing in terms of developing sustainable drainage systems that allow water to infiltrate into the ground rather than run off,” Mr Machisa said.
He said the separation of rainwater from the sewer system by revamping the drainage systems is crucial.
“This prevents the underground systems from bursting and getting damaged,” Mr Machisa said.
Harare City Council’s interventions
The council’s spokesperson, Mr Innocent Ruwende, said the local authority is “currently carrying out a drain cleaning, catch pit cleaning, pipe drain deblocking and spoil removal exercise citywide.”
He said the city council’s Roads division had set up a team responsible for drain cleaning and flood management in the CBD throughout the rainy season.
“There is also a joint drain cleaning, drain clearing and spoil removal operation by the Amenities division and the Roads division. This is a complementary exercise to the main drain cleaning programme. The main aim is to clear the illegal dumpsites in the CBD. The dumpsites lead to flooding after the waste from these areas is washed into stormwater drains.”
Recently, the city council allocated funds disbursed by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration to purchase materials for pothole patching but the local authority says the money is not enough to cover the whole city.
Mr Ruwende said the proliferation of car washers on Harare’s streets is also cause for concern.
“Street car washing must be abolished as water from washing is ponding on roads and eroding road shoulders, thereby damaging our roads.”
The spokesperson acknowledged that the council needs to do more to curb littering, particularly with regard to vendors, who have become a menace in the city.
“There should be heavy enforcement and littering control in the city. At the moment, on most street corners in town, we have vendors roasting mealies and the mealie covers are thrown all over. They eventually find their way into our drainage system.”
Mr Ruwende revealed that the council had purchased machinery to address its drainage challenges. “The city has procured a new excavator that will be dedicated to the major drain clearing, with some of the drains having not been cleared in the past eight or more years.
“The city is also targeting to procure three tractor loader backhoes, one front end loader and three tractor-trailer combinations before the end of this year to assist in loading and transportation of spoil from drains as this is one of our major challenges at the moment.”
Online Reporter