Budiriro, Glen Norah, and Glen View suffer on Dysfunctional Council’s watch

Budiriro, Glen Norah, and Glen View suffer on Dysfunctional Council’s watch

Brian Rungano Temba

Three Harare suburbs are now in their second week in a row without any sign of water, as residents fear possible health threats posed by water shortages.

Budiriro and Glen View have become high-risk areas, prone to cholera outbreaks following the majority of the Council monitored boreholes being rendered dysfunctional.

Residents have expressed displeasure over the service provision by the Harare City Council. The council is said to give excuses whenever called to attend to the boreholes.

Discussions held on social media platforms have blamed these shortages posted on this year’s low inflows into Lake chivero because of the Elino effect and global warming.

Another factor is that Harare reservoir is heavily silted and polluted. The entire catchment area and the reservoir are totally choked by Water Hyacinth, which has contributed the damage to water reticulation systems.

Frequent breakdowns of Council water supply have also been blamed on delapidating infrastructure and outdated systems.

The heavy pollution of the water n turn requires a combination of different chemicals to bring the water to consumable standard or level fit for human consumption.

Others have pinned the blame on the unprecedented growth of Harare City in terms of new suburbs, which are unmatched with the expansion of sewer and water treatment infrastructure. Thereby, making the City of Harare’s capacity to pump and provide water to residents is greatly compromised.

Boreholes drilled under the presidential borehole drilling scheme are overwhelmed as the population in these areas has expanded exponentially.

Some residents have attested to having seen sewage flowing in Highfield Water Works Engineering area and gabbage has not been collected in months. This scenario, as indicated by some residents, defeats the notion of “clean cities” by 2030.