Feature: Bulk, bottled water sales pose health risks

IT is already scorching around 1pm in Mbare, Harare, and a man is walking along the street holding six 2-litre bottles of ice-cold water.

The man shouts, "Dollar, dollar, dollar mvura (water for US$1)."

As he passes by, two parched elderly individuals in a vehicle halt him. They attempt to negotiate a reduction in price, yet their endeavours prove to be in vain.

The hawker says: “My water is safe; I bought it iced from a wholesaler.”

Not all the water that is being sold on the streets is safe for drinking, especially in Mbare, where some people pick up empty bottles and refill them with water from wells, taps or boreholes.

Thirsty and unsuspecting travellers and newcomers in Mbare buy the water and end up being sick.

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Tsungai Madhachi, a Guruve resident who usually visits Mbare to buy stuff to sell back home, told NewsDay that she won't repeat the mistake of buying water without closely checking if its bottle is properly sealed.

"I learned my lesson the past two weeks. Right now, I don't just buy water here in Mbare. I once bought and got a running stomach afterwards."

A Mbare resident who identified herself as Madlamini said: “I was one of the people who sold water. We have industrial fridges at home. We have tap water from the City of Harare, boreholes and solar-powered boreholes. The water is sold at ZWL$1 000 or ZWL$2 000 because bottled pure water is ZWL$2 000. So, if one is bottling the water, it will cost ZWL$1,500 or ZWL$1 800; it depends on where it is sold.”

"Some people you see in town, especially children, do not sell pure water. The bottles are tightened in such a way that you feel that you bought pure water."

Willias Chigwedere, who buys and sells plastic materials such as empty bottles and kaylites, told NewsDay that there are people who come to buy the bottles to refill with water, but they won’t find fitting lids.

The worsening water woes in Harare resulted in the mushrooming of new brands, some of them not approved by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (Saz).

In 2014, more than 10 brands were flagged.

The water crisis in Harare Metropolitan Province has also led to an increase in the sale of water in residential areas.

Bulk water suppliers are selling 1 000 and 2 000 litres, for US$10 and US$20, respectively.

Those with boreholes in residential areas are also selling water for US$1 for between six and eight buckets.

The province’s water system at Morton Jaffray was designed to produce approximately 704 megalitres (ML) of water per day against an estimated daily demand of between 800 ML and 1 300ML.

National Consumer Rights Association spokesperson Effie Ncube said bottled water should be a product of a process that meets the highest and most rigorous scientific standards of care and is best if certified by Saz or the standards body of whichever country the water was bottled.

“Careless handling of water can lead to water-borne diseases that may take many lives. This risk is further heightened if the water source is untreated or unprotected from contamination,” Ncube said.

Water drawn from unknown sources puts consumers at risk of contracting the cholera bacteria.

Cholera has killed hundreds of people since the first case was recorded on February 12 in Chegutu town.

Zimbabwe recorded over 5 000 suspected cholera cases and over 1 000 confirmed cases.

Chitungwiza mayor Lovemore Maiko told NewsDay that the current water crisis was forcing residents to drink water from unprotected wells or to buy water from bulk water suppliers whose sources are unknown.

“Boreholes are being drilled, and the water doesn’t go for lab tests. As council, we must up our game in terms of monitoring bulk water suppliers who come with bowsers selling in residential areas. We would not know where the water is coming from. It can be very dangerous to people because we don’t know the source,” Maiko said.

"In the case of this cholera outbreak, you never know where the bacteria are coming from. We might be thinking that there are unprotected wells in our town, but it might be those coming from outside bringing water, which is not safe. It creates problems for our people.”

He said there was a need to work around enforcement, but that depended on residents being responsible.

“You cannot buy water when you don’t know its source. So, it’s important for residents to buy from trusted sources. You can’t buy from a supplier that you have just seen today.”

Maiko said some boreholes were decommissioned after the discovery that their water was not safe for drinking and appealed for government intervention in constructing a dam for Chitungwiza.

“Most of the boreholes decommissioned are in ward 5 (St Mary’s) because they had too much alkaline, making the water dangerous to drink,” he said.

“It’s our clarion call to government to prioritise the issue of letting Chitungwiza have its own source of water by either completing Muda Dam or building a canal from Muchekeranwa Dam in Marondera so that we don’t have problems that we are experiencing as a result of not having a permanent water source.”

Several efforts to get a comment from the City of Harare were futile, but its spokesperson, Stanley Gama, has previously told our sister publication, The Standard, that the solution to the water crisis is to construct more dams.

Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council chairperson Stalin Mau Mau said his organisation was being overwhelmed by the mushrooming of bulk water suppliers.

“Suppliers are supposed to only get their water from an authorised source where it is regularly laboratory tested for its suitability for human consumption. However, there are countless culprits who get their water from risky sources, including streams, thus endangering our consumers,” he said.

“Some get the water from their own boreholes, which again is illegal because not all boreholes have suitable drinking water and furthermore, the law does not allow more than 2 000 litres to be moved from an unlicensed source and delivered elsewhere, even if it’s from one’s own borehole.”

Water chemist Joyce Mufara said there were natural contaminants such as minerals, heavy metals and organic compounds that could seep into groundwater or surface water.

"This makes it essential to assess the composition of the water. By conducting proper water analysis, we can identify these impurities and assess their levels to determine if the water is safe for consumption. Regular testing can help in detecting these pollutants and ensuring that water treatment methods are effective in removing them,” she said.

Mufara said human activities and industrial processes can introduce harmful pollutants into water sources. Pesticides, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and pathogens can find their way into water bodies, posing serious health risks if consumed, she said.

“Untested water sources can contain various contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, heavy metals, chemicals and toxins. Without proper testing, the levels of these contaminants remain unknown, making it impossible to assess the health risks associated with consuming the water,” Mufara said.

She said water supplies that are not monitored or tested often lack essential water treatment processes like filtration and disinfection, hence proper treatment is necessary to remove contaminants before the water is safe for consumption.

“Unregulated water supplies may be stored and transported in containers or tanker trucks that are not sanitised properly. Poor hygiene and storage practices can further contaminate the water, making it unsafe to drink,” Mufara said, adding that it “is essential to rely on water from tested and trusted sources” to safeguard public health.

According to information gathered yesterday, water may contain nitrites that are transformed into amines and amides. This results in the formation of nitrosamines, which have been found to cause gastric and oesophagal cancer.

Experts say that in infants, nitrites compete with oxygen for active sites on hemoglobin, resulting in oxygen deprivation.

For the safety of consumers, it is imperative that the nitrite levels in the body remain below the prescribed maximum limit.