Harare hit by serious water chemical shortages

Harare residents should brace for a dry festive season or rely on rain water, as council has run out of water purification chemicals.

Mayor Herbert Gomba yesterday gave a grim picture of water supply in the capital as the festive season approaches, with supplies already having declined significantly.

"This has forced us to reduce our production from around 450 megalitres per day to about 330 megalitres per day," he said.

Gomba said the local authority had engaged the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to release foreign currency to procure chemicals as all local suppliers had nothing in stock.

"We do, hereby, notify the public that we are making efforts to source the chemicals so that we do not completely run out. We import the chemicals from South Africa and China on a cash basis, with no option for credit purchases," the mayor said.

Already, Harare is battling to meet water demand, as it pumps 450 megalitres per day against the required 1 000 mega litres.

The capital city requires a minimum of $2 million per month to procure water chemicals.

"The absence of the chemicals reduces water production and compromises water quality. We also have limited stock of HTH used to remove algae," Gomba said.

"The two chemicals are used in the spring season when the raw water quality deteriorates due to effects of algae growth and concentration of pollutants."

He said besides the shortage of chemicals, council was also battling with power cuts at its treatment plant and in the process, affecting production and onward delivery to households.