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Talent Gore
HARARE City Council has assured residents that the water it pumps into homes is safe to drink despite some residents saying it is producing a certain smell.
Harare Principal Water Distribution Engineer, Joy Nyamayaro, told residents that the water in some instances might not be clear but it is safe to drink. He said they use chlorine, which has a residual effect, which means it stays in the water killing bacteria.
“The presence of algae is caused by the air which gets into the water through the pipes, our system was not designed in such a way that you can switch on and off willy-nilly,” he said.
“if you do that it will be drawing air and dirt into the pipes, that dirt is the one that you then see settling down and forms algae.
“What I can guarantee you is that if water, which is below the acceptable standards is pumped, the water production manager will be arrested.
“Our laboratory is working properly, the problem is along the way, like I said, before we are switching the pumps on and off on a regular.”
Eng Nyamayaro said there were a number of severe challenges facing the city’s water supply and waste water treatment.
“I want to start by saying that climate change makes things worse, we already have a water shortage in Harare imagine last year we didn’t have enough rains,” he said.
“So, this has an effect on both water quantity and quality in our sources so one of the hardest things for us as engineers is treating our water.
“In terms of the water waste treatment, the same issues that we have, in terms of our infrastructure with water, are the same challenges that we have with our waste water treatment facilities where there has been a mismatch between the extent with which the city is growing itself and the capital investment.
“The state, in which our plant was 20-30 years ago, is still the same right now, so that poses a lot of challenges for us.”
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter