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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
Redcliff Municipality has been dogged by perennial water shortages since the closure of steel manufacturing powerhouse, Ziscosteel, close to a decade ago.
Since then, the town has been struggling to supply residents with potable water and relies on Kwekwe City for supply of clean water. But with a huge water bill now hovering around $700 million, the two local authorities have been at loggerheads over water supplies. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Redcliff Municipality has resorted to drilling boreholes so that residents can have access to clean water while they work on a long-term solution.
It is however, the rampant, unsanctioned drilling of boreholes by residents which has become a major cause for concern as it has negative repercussions to the environment.
Almost every household in Redcliff has a borehole to avert water challenges. With vast tracts of land, the local authority is still selling commercial and residential stands and the demand for water for construction purposes has also increased.
The construction of a modern city along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway at the Redcliff Turnoff has also increased the demand for water. A hotel, fuel stations and malls are earmarked for construction on the 250 hectare piece of land. The local authority is set to release about 4 000 residential stands in the near future, meaning more unsanctioned boreholes for the town as construction is set to increase.
Town Clerk Mr Gilson Chakauya recently admitted that the new city was bringing with it more demand for water saying they were working on construction of their own water treatment plant as a long-term solution.
“We have a long-term plan of constructing our own water treatment plant to avert water challenges. We are currently in talks with Kwekwe City since we will be getting raw water from them and treating it for ourselves before distributing it,” he said.
Mr Chakauya said the coming in of a new investor, Kuvimba Mining Company, at Ziscosteel was a welcome development and a key factor improving the availability of water.
“The coming in of Kuvimba at Ziscosteel is a welcome development in Redcliff. We have a number of developments that rely on the functionality of the company including water supply,” he said.
Mayor Councillor Clayton Masiyatsva said although the borehole drilling was uncontrollable, it was going a long way in reducing the water crisis.
“We can’t control the borehole drilling because everyone wants water but it is going a long way in reducing the water crisis in Redcliff,” he said.
Clr Masiyatsva said they were still looking for a partner in the construction of a water treatment plant, whose construction was delayed by water levels at the only water source, Cactus Dam.
“Cactus Dam does not have enough water to supply the town all year round, so we were only left with one solution : getting raw water from Kwekwe before treating it and distributing it,” he said.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) however expressed concern over the unregulated borehole drilling not only in Redcliff but in other urban areas accross the country.
“The authority is greatly concerned by the rise of unregulated borehole drilling in Redcliff and other urban communities in the country. We wish to remind the general public and relevant stakeholders such as local authorities, sub-catchment councils and borehole drilling companies that groundwater is a finite resource that needs to be carefully and collectively managed to avoid depletion and upsetting the ecological balance of the environment,” said Zinwa Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager, Ms Marjorie Munyonga.
She said unregulated sinking of boreholes in urban backyards leads to over extraction which poses serious long-term threats to the environment.
“It is disturbing that boreholes are being drilled in residential areas in the absence of authority to drill as is provided for by the law. The public is reminded that Section 35 of the Water Act (Chapter 20:24) clearly states that written authority from the catchment council to drill, after or deepen existing boreholes for both primary and secondary use must be obtained before drilling takes place,” said Ms Munyonga.
The law, she said, also provides for the registration of boreholes to allow for monitoring which strengthens groundwater management.
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