Harare residents have raised alarm over pollution in Lake Chivero, Harare’s primary water source as it faces a dire pollution crisis from raw sewerage flowing into the lake. The once pristine lake, which has been supplying water to the city for decades, is now teetering on the edge of becoming a sewerage pond, compromising the raw water quality.
According to Combined Harare Residents Association’s executive director, Ruben Akili the pollution is mainly due to unattended sewer bursts and partly functional sewer treatment plants” The local authority uses more than eight water treatment chemicals, and even the Water Bill has been high due to the high levels of pollution, especially from sewerage gushing out from these streams which then feed into Lake Chivero,” Akili added.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume acknowledged the severity of the situation saying they are working on repairing the aging pipes. “We are putting a lot of effort into the aging infrastructure that was our sewer infrastructure, our water infrastructure. There is a need for a wholesale renewal of our infrastructure. But at the present moment, we are on a holding position.
“We are trying to react to breakages and blockages as and when they happen and also trying to change our chemical regime so that we can increase the water that we supply to the residents. Coupled with that, we face the challenge where the residents themselves are not paying their bills,” Mafume explained.
The pollution crisis in Lake Chivero has far-reaching consequences as Harare has been grappling with a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 500 lives since February last year.
