Residents of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare are enduring long days without potable water, running the risk of contracting water-borne diseases, especially during the current rainy season.
Harare City Council attributed the water woes to a shortage of water treatment chemicals caused by local suppliers’ lack of capacity to provide enough.
The water supplies will remain suppressed because of the chemical shortages, acting council spokesperson Innocent Ruwende told Xinhua on Wednesday.
“The City of Harare is advising residents of Harare and all stakeholders that water production remains suppressed owing to inconsistent deliveries of locally sourced liquid aluminium sulphate and its imported granular substitute. Council has the money to pay for the supplies, but our supplier is facing some production challenges,” he said.
Ruwende said the next delivery of granular aluminium sulphate is expected on Thursday, but the supply will just be enough to carry the city for a few days.
“As a result of this reduced level of production, water supply coverage around the city has been severely affected. All efforts are being made to work out a sustainable solution to the problem,” he said.
The city’s two waterworks are currently producing less than half of the required amount because of chemical shortages.
As of Nov. 18, the city was producing 278 megaliters per day against the available capacity of 528 megaliters per day. About half of the treated water was lost through leakages in the reticulation system.
Many residents in high-density suburbs are making use of boreholes sunk in their areas, as opposed to getting tap water. Some are investing in storage tanks so that they have backup supplies whenever the council stops pumping to their areas. Enditem
