Chitungwiza residents urges govt to build Muda dam

Chitungwiza residents have urged government to prioritise the construction of Muda Dam in rural Seke to alleviate perennial water challenges in the town.

Chairperson of the Chitungwiza and Manyame Residents Association, Marvellous Kumalo said without a new water source — which the Zanu PF party promised during the 2018 election campaign — the water crisis in the town could worsen and expose residents to waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid.

"In 2019, government should take the Muda Dam project very seriously because the current situation is unattainable. We need to deal with this issue now. We can't rely on Harare forever; Chitungwiza has a huge population and its needs its own water source. The town is growing yet the water supply is dwindling," Kumalo said.

The Zanu PF government in the build up to last year's elections said it had prioritised the construction Kunzvi and Muda dams to supply Chitungwiza, Epworth, Harare and Norton with fresh water.

Chitungwiza has been getting its water from Harare through Price Edward treatment works. But the supplies have not been sufficient and constant due to Harare's own inability to deliver enough water.

As of yesterday, Harare was pumping not more than 400 mega litres of water per day against a demand of 800 mega litres per day.

Harare supplies between 20 to 25 mega litres of water per day to Chitungwiza which at times drops to about 10 mega litres depending on availability resulting in some households getting supplies once per fortnight.

The situation has forced many families in Chitungwiza to rely on water from shallow wells or boreholes further exposing residents to waterborne diseases.

Chitungwiza also owed Harare millions of dollars in water arrears.