HARARE residents and those of the capital’s satellite towns should brace for acute water shortages after the temporary decommissioning of the Prince Edward water treatment plant near Chitungwidza.
Chitungwiza is a dormitory town of Harare and receives its water from Harare City Council, which is struggling to deliver potable water even to its own residents.
In a statement, the City of Harare announced that Prince Edward water treatment plant will only be recommissioned when the dams fill up most likely during the coming rainy season.
“The City of Harare wishes to inform residents that we have temporarily decommissioned Prince Edward water treatment plant near Chitungwiza as the two dams that feed into the waterworks, Harava and Seke, have dried up.
“We can no longer draw water from the two dams. Prince Edward will only be recommissioned when the two dams fill up, most likely during the coming rainy reason,” the statement read.
“Areas that are likely to be affected include, among others, Chitungwiza, Hatfield, Airport, Waterfalls and Msasa. However, efforts are being made to boost water supplies in the areas affected from Morton Jaffray Waterworks in Norton.”
Council water director Phakamile Mabhena Moyo recently told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government that water treatment capacity at Morton Jaffray is 614 megalitres (ML) per day and that at Prince Edward, it was 90ML per day, totalling 704ML a day, to serve Harare, Chitungwiza, Norton, Ruwa and other areas going up to Inkomo Barracks.
He said daily demand was around 800ML against a capacity production of 704ML a day.
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Harare’s total water demand has increased to 1 200ML when areas such as Caledonia and southern parts along the Harare-Masvingo Highway are connected.
Council has been put on the spotlight after President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently appointed a commission of inquiry chaired by retired judge Justice Maphios Cheda to probe into the city’s operations mainly in its accounting systems and adherence to financial management since 2017.
Harare has a population of 1 849 600, according to 2022 census and the province has 2 487 209 people.
Harare’s water system was designed in the 1960s and is now inadequate to serve the growing population.
The perennial water crisis in Harare Metropolitan province’s local authorities has been linked to obsolete water infrastructure, ballooning population, climate change and inadequate treatment chemicals.
