Urban well-drilling: Ticking time bomb

She said residents had no option but to sink wells and boreholes as an alternative source of water since service delivery from council has failed them.
Isaac Nyamambititi of Unit M in Chitungwiza had this to say: “I realised that I was punishing my wife because she bears the brunt of fetching water from wells strewn in the wetlands around the town for bathing and washing the dishes.
“Sinking this well has meant reducing her workload when council denies us water. Sometimes we spend a week with no supplies and the well becomes our only source of ‘safe drinking water’. We also allow our neighbours to fetch water from our well.”
A snap survey of Chitungwiza’s Unit J suburb reveals that most houses within the town, situated 33 kilometres out of Harare, have wells within their 300 x 380 square metre yards.
Mabvuku resident Daisy Choto said sinking a well at her house has meant that she now has time to rest after a hard day’s work at a retail shop in the capital Harare.
“Digging this well has greatly improved my schedule because after work, I do not have to carry a bucket to the nearest borehole, where there will be a long queue. I now have time to rest and do other chores,” said a jubilant Daisy.
An unlicensed well driller who identified himself as Joseph Matambo said council failure is working to their advantage.
“There is brisk business for us in Chitungwiza and other suburbs around Harare because residents are now resorting to digging wells at their houses as an alternative to the forever dry taps,” said Matambo.
“Our team comprises three men and it takes us four days to identify a proper site for drilling a well and completing the job,” he said.
Matambo said they normally charge US$200 to US$250 for labour, depending on the payment plan offered by the customer.
“Our duty is to dig wells and make our customers happy. We are chipping in where council has failed residents,” said Matambo.
Environment Africa official Barnabas Mawire said it was highly probable that the quality of water from these wells is very poor and should be boiled before consumption.
“Proper site identification and investigation should be done before a well is dug to establish an environmental and hydro-geological risk assessment. It is important to know the location of water and the estimated amounts of underground water before any water well drilling efforts are undertaken,” said Mawire.
He said underground water should then be tested and assessed whether the quality is suitable for drinking or not. Mawire also said haphazard drilling of wells promotes rapid by-pass pathways for pollutants to reach ground water.
Dr Prosper Chonzi, director of health services for Harare City Council, said most urban councils are failing to provide water to residents and have resorted to turning a blind eye to the well-drilling activities in most suburbs.
“Council cannot enforce a punitive stance on residents because we are failing to provide them with water. It would look like we have turned a blind eye to illegal well-drilling activities, but we are powerless since such acts have increased because of our failure,” said Dr Chonzi.
“Well drilling is a process that has to be certified by council sticking to proper procedure which establishes whether the well is at the proper site and will not deprive other residents of underground water. Residents who dig wells and sink boreholes without council approval are supposed to be fined,” he said.
An official from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said most wells in residential areas are unsafe water sources as they are prone to contamination.
“Service delivery within most residential areas is very poor, with wells containing contaminated water due to sewage spillage,” she said.
The official attributed the quick drying up of wells to poor assessment done prior to drilling.
Residents in most urban areas are resorting to sinking boreholes and drilling wells as alternative sources of drinking water, a move coming hard on the heels of Harare and Chitungwiza city councils’ failure to constantly provide water.
There are also instances when drilled wells collapse, posing danger to tenants.