Nearby, rivers meander through lush valleys, streams cascade from the mist-covered Eastern Highlands, and major dams such as Osborne, Odzani and Smallbridge store millions of cubic metres of water that sustain households, industries and agriculture.
During the rainy season, the landscape turns a vibrant green, reinforcing Mutare’s reputation as one of Zimbabwe’s most naturally endowed cities.
For decades, the Pungwe–Mutare Water Supply Project has been celebrated as a landmark engineering achievement and a long-term solution to the city’s water needs. The transboundary scheme conveys raw water from the Pungwe River to Mutare entirely by gravity and has long been regarded as the backbone of the city’s potable water supply.
Mutare residents proudly repeated a familiar refrain: “Mutare city has the cleanest water in Zimbabwe.”
Yet, behind that reputation and facade lies a troubling reality. Thousands of residents living in Mutare’s rapidly expanding suburbs remain without reliable access to clean, piped water. In one of Zimbabwe’s starkest urban contradictions, a city surrounded by rivers, streams and dams is home to thousands of people who have spent years—some more than a decade—waiting for municipal water to reach their taps.
Instead, many wake before dawn to queue at boreholes, carry buckets over long distances or purchase water from private suppliers. Others have little choice but to rely on untreated water drawn from rivers, streams and ponds.
The crisis is particularly evident in newer residential developments such as Hillview, Aloe, Destiny and Link Road in Dangamvura, as well as Hobhouse, Fern Valley and other growing settlements. Despite paying rates and levies—including road special rates, sewerage charges, education levies and sports rates—many residents remain disconnected from the municipal water network.
For years, residents discussed the prospect of receiving municipal water in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups. Today, many say those conversations have faded, replaced by advertisements for products ranging from chickens to peanut butter as hope for a solution diminishes. In some communities, children as young as six can be seen carrying containers of water from unsafe sources for household use. Women wash clothes in streams polluted by sewage, while a disused quarry pond at the edge of Aloe’s Triang of Raheen suburb, has become an alternative water source for desperate residents. This is heavily covered in algae, but the residents have no choice.
“We can see the dams. We know Mutare has water. What we do not understand is why we still have to wake up before sunrise to fetch water from boreholes and other sources. We are appealing to the government to assist us,” said one resident from a newly developed suburb in Dangamvura who requested anonymity.
Across many neighbourhoods, community boreholes have become the primary source of water. Women and children bear the greatest burden, often spending hours each day queuing with buckets and containers. Even these alternatives are unreliable. Community boreholes frequently break down and can remain out of service for days, leaving entire communities without water.
Ironically, this dependence on groundwater comes at a time when the Zimbabwe government is tightening regulations governing borehole drilling and groundwater abstraction. Authorities have recently introduced measures requiring borehole owners to register their water sources and obtain permits, citing concerns over unsustainable groundwater extraction and the long-term protection of aquifers.
While water experts argue that the regulations are necessary, many residents fear additional costs and restrictions at a time when boreholes remain their only dependable source of water.
Infrastructure Lagging Behind Urban Growth
The situation highlights a growing disconnect between urban expansion and infrastructure development. Over the past decade, Mutare has experienced significant population growth accompanied by a surge in housing developments on the city’s outskirts. As demand for residential land increased, new suburbs emerged faster than the infrastructure required to support them.
Water treatment plants, pumping stations, reservoirs and distribution networks require substantial investment. Yet years of financial constraints and competing service delivery demands have left critical infrastructure struggling to keep pace with urban growth. Urban planners argue that Mutare’s challenge is not a shortage of water resources, but a shortage of infrastructure.
The issue has gained renewed significance following the gazetting of the Minimum Service Delivery Standards Indicators for Local Authorities Regulations, 2025 (SI 170 of 2025), which establish benchmarks for essential municipal services, including access to safe and reliable water. The Government has signalled that local authorities will increasingly be held accountable for service delivery failures.
Speaking recently, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe warned:
“We will no longer tolerate a situation where a resident in one town enjoys clean water, while a resident in a neighbouring district faces a cholera outbreak due to broken-down sewer systems.”
For residents of Mutare’s underserved suburbs, such statements offer hope that long-standing challenges may finally receive urgent attention. Health experts warn that prolonged reliance on unregulated water sources increases the risk of waterborne diseases, particularly during periods of contamination and drought.
The burden is also economic. Many households spend scarce income purchasing water from private suppliers or paying transport costs to access distant water sources. For families already struggling with rising living expenses, these costs can be significant.
Council Response Raises Further Questions
Mutare City Council spokesperson Charles Sadondo said housing developments such as Hillview, Aloe, Destiny and Link Road have not yet been formally handed over to the local authority because developers are still completing critical infrastructure, including water supply systems, in line with the conditions of their development permits.
“The developers of these projects are still undertaking infrastructure development, including water supply infrastructure, in accordance with the conditions of their development permits,” Sadondo said.
He added that Council has nevertheless adopted a proactive approach by providing selected services in some of the affected areas.
“These services currently include solid waste collection to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for residents,” he said.
On water access, Sadondo said residents in areas such as Federation and Gimboki are benefiting from water kiosks established through a partnership between the City of Mutare and Vitens Evides International of the Netherlands.
“In addition, individual household water connections are ongoing in Gimboki, and many residents are now receiving piped water directly to their homes through this partnership,” he said.
Sadondo also said the city council is replacing non-functional water meters free of charge to improve billing accuracy and reduce consumer complaints.
However, his explanation raises critical questions. If developers have not completed the infrastructure required under their permits and the housing projects have not been formally handed over to the city council, how were residents allowed to build homes and settle in areas lacking essential services such as water?
Equally significant is the question of why the city council is collecting rates and service charges from residents living in developments it says have not yet been officially handed over.
When pressed to explain these apparent contradictions, Sadondo was unable to provide immediate answers.
Questions were also raised regarding accountability in the event of disease outbreaks linked to inadequate water and sanitation services, as well as measures being implemented to address sanitation challenges in communities without reliable water supplies.
Further clarification was sought regarding conflicting information about the source of water intended for some of these developments. While some residents and developers indicated that water would be supplied from reservoirs at Dangamvura Link Road, concerns have emerged that Council now expects the supply to come from a reservoir in Fern Valley.
Responding to the additional questions, Sadondo said he needed more time to gather information from the relevant departments.
“Unfortunately, I am not able to provide the requested details at the moment. I am engaged with auditors. I may need more time to source the information from the relevant offices and may not be able to provide the information today. My sincere apologies,” he said.
His response leaves several key questions unanswered, including who authorised settlement before the completion of essential infrastructure, who bears responsibility for public health risks arising from inadequate water and sanitation services, and what the definitive plan is for supplying water to the affected developments.
A Growing Demand for Accountability
As Mutare continues to expand, residents and civic groups are increasingly demanding that investment in water infrastructure keeps pace with urban growth.
Their argument is simple: if a city blessed with abundant water resources cannot provide clean water to its residents, the problem is not nature. It is planning, governance and infrastructure delivery.
But the irony is impossible to ignore. In a city long celebrated for having some of Zimbabwe’s cleanest water, thousands of residents remain without access to one of the most basic services any urban authority is expected to provide.
Until clean water flows consistently from household taps, the promises of modern urban living will remain unfulfilled for many families in Mutare city’s newest suburbs.
Post published in: Featured