Warning against borehole water

By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |

Bulawayo residents have been warned against consuming borehole water as its quality is not known.

The Bulawayo mayor, Martin Moyo, told the local independent media that the city council last tested the water a long time ago, meaning that the local authority could not certify the water safe for drinking and cooking.

Moyo advised residents to store large amounts of running water ahead of scheduled rationing.

“We are encouraging residents to stock adequate water for drinking and cooking. Borehole water should be used for gardening purposes.

“The biggest challenge we have is that our teams have not done tests on borehole water in a while to determine whether the water is safe for consumption or not,” he said.

The city council is experiencing acute problems securing water from its dams, hence poor water supplies.

As water cuts worsen in Bulawayo and other parts of the country, residents are increasingly resorting to wells and boreholes, most of them not sanctioned by local authorities.

For long, residents have considered borehole water safe, even though there have been concerns in the past about possible contamination from nearby sewer reticulation systems.

Tap water in urban centres like Harare is generally considered unsafe for drinking, with the capital’s health services department at one time admitting that it was contaminated. Nehanda Radio