the parastatal took over water supplies for what they allege as: “… mainly because of the need to improve service delivery, which had deteriorated to unsustainable levels” said Zinwa’s weekly ‘What you should know column’ in the local media.
The report by the works department produced in December alleges that the water supplied by Zinwa continues: “to fail to meet the WHO (1993) guidelines and SAZ (1997) standards”.
The report adds: “Free residual chlorine is constantly low in the drinking water, viable counts (TVC) of bacteria and coniforms continue to be present in the drinking water. Toxin-producing blue-green algae is consistently present in the drinking water”.
The continued war of words by the two institutions comes after they have all failed to provide clean water to Harare metropolitan province. Harare supplies water to Norton, Ruwa and Chitungwiza among other cities.
The politically-motivated takeover of water supplies by Zinwa in May, raised questions at the parastetal’s capabilities to effectively manage the distribution of water. However, Zinwa has hit back saying the water treatment for Harare needs an ‘overhaul’ as it has become aged before they took over.
Perennial water problems have engulfed the city as the government-appointed commission bungled water treatment chemical tenders and unprofessional conduct to council business.
Recently, there was a dysentery outbreak in the province caused by the consumption of unsafe drinking water resulting in the loss of lives while many households went for weeks without water. -CAJ News
Post published in: News