The Minister of Water Resources Development and Management, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, blamed industrial companies and city councils in Greater Harare for the pollution.
“Lake Chivero is now ranked as hyper-euthropic, meaning that it has very high quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus. Industrial pollution and the discharge of raw sewage are major challenges and we are worried about the rapid spread of water hyacinth which endangers the balance of the water eco-system,” said the minister. “Aquatic weeds thrive in polluted water and they absorb oxygen which compromises the quality of aquatic life,” he said.
Nkomo said councils like Norton and Chitungwiza were discharging raw sewage into the lake. “Norton Council has been emitting raw sewage into Harare’s water sources and this has resulted in Harare City Council having to use up to 14 chemicals to purify water,” Nkomo said. In order to guarantee good water quality, he said, there was need for an overhaul of the water infrastructure but added that finance constraints were hampering progress.
“All that is required is capital investment to refurbish old infrastructure and treat all raw sewage,” he said. Meanwhile, HCC, through Treasury, has managed to refurbish almost 100 per cent of its sewer plants which are located upstream of Lake Chivero, a development that will prevent further water pollution.
Post published in: Environment
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