Harare water woes mount

By Helen Kadirire

Harare’s perennial water shortages have seen certain parts of the city and the Avenues area going without water for two months. The city has been hard hit by a lack of water which prompted council and aid agencies to drill boreholes in strategic areas for use by the residents.

Residents at Megawatt Court in the Avenues complained that they have not had water for the last two months with council not doing anything about the problem.

“We used to get water from a nearby sports club but they no longer allow us to fetch water. Council always comes to try and fix the problem but to no avail.

“Now we are getting our water from a burst pipe at the entrance of the complex,” Celeste Makuwa said.

In other parts of Harare such as Msasa Park, residents can go for weeks without water and have to walk to Park Meadowlands to fetch from private boreholes.

HCC spokesperson Michael Chideme said the city is working hard to fix the burst pipes so that residents do not spend days without water.

“All parts of Harare that are not receiving municipal water will start receiving it as council is working towards replacing the pipes in those areas to avoid losses through bursts,” he said.

Engineering consultant Tawona Mtungwazi told the Daily News that HCC needs to put in place control mechanisms to avoid continuous burst pipes which result in revenue loss for the city.

Mtungwazi said the old pipes are continuously bursting because they can no longer handle the pressure of the water.

He said every time they replace pipes, council should include pressure reducing valves that regulate the flow of water and prevent bursts.

“Council needs to repair all water reservoirs, most of the pipes burst because of the water hammer, which causes the pipes to burst because they are pumping water straight into the houses.

“Most of the reservoirs are not functioning, but they are important because when water goes away the suburbs can have water for three to four days.

“The city has been approving all sorts of development without water reservoirs that is why you see we have shortage of water in Harare,” Mtungwazi said.

He added that the drilling of boreholes in urban centres is not development as it is only bring the rural set-up into cities and towns.  DailyNews