03:20Harare residents are forced to survive with minimum of drinking water as deep clean water crisis hit Zimbabwe's capital following the city's water treatment plant shutdown in August.
Footage filmed on Thursday shows residents of Mbare, a densely populated suburb of Harare, gathered around a borehole to collect water buckets and bottles.
"We honestly wish that the water council could give us water even for at least three days because, these days, we can even be left for more than a week without water," Susan Mutengwa commented.
Residents described dire circumstances they faced due to the unavailability of 'any constant service delivery of water'.
"We are struggling with water issues because we no longer have an option but to go to the water points, and in most cases, when you get there, it would be full of people," Mutengwa explained.
"We sometimes get tap water, but it is no longer clean, so its use is for only washing laundry, but in terms of drinking it, you can't. Hence, why do we then end up coming to the boreholes to get water? Because it is the only source of water that is safe to drink," Chris Vatoko added.
Director of the Coalition Water Association in Harare, Arnold Mudzingwa, blamed the shortage of water on drought that affected the 'amount of raw water available'. Among drought consequents, he named the temporal closure of the Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant in Chitungwiza, the primary water source for several residential areas, including Chitungwiza, Hatfield and Msasa.
"The city is producing less than around 200 to 250 mega litres per day, and the demand in the metropolitan province is 1200. And you know of that, amount that is being produced which is around 250 mega litres, 35 percent is lost through physical losses. So, it is not reaching citizens," Mudzingwa noted.
Meanwhile, Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, claimed that that although the water from the plant meets the world health standards, the process of water treatment is hindered by a lack of purifying chemicals and its outdated facilities.
"The water, as it leaves our plant, it is up to world health standards. But [with] the ageing infrastructure, there is some contamination as it gets to the residents, he said. So, the solution would be to rebuild the infrastructure, renew it and make sure that the water is not contaminated along the way."
According to the local media, infrastructure for piped water in the city was built more than half a century ago for a population of 300,000 people. The current metropolitan area population reached 4,5 million people.
The persisting drought is reportedly attributed to the 'El Nino' weather phenomenon, which can result in both extreme weather conditions at once - extended droughts and excessive rainfall or flooding.
'Left for more than a week without water' - Harare residents struggle amid draught following water treatment plant's closure
Harare residents are forced to survive with minimum of drinking water as deep clean water crisis hit Zimbabwe's capital following the city's water treatment plant shutdown in August.
Footage filmed on Thursday shows residents of Mbare, a densely populated suburb of Harare, gathered around a borehole to collect water buckets and bottles.
"We honestly wish that the water council could give us water even for at least three days because, these days, we can even be left for more than a week without water," Susan Mutengwa commented.
Residents described dire circumstances they faced due to the unavailability of 'any constant service delivery of water'.
"We are struggling with water issues because we no longer have an option but to go to the water points, and in most cases, when you get there, it would be full of people," Mutengwa explained.
"We sometimes get tap water, but it is no longer clean, so its use is for only washing laundry, but in terms of drinking it, you can't. Hence, why do we then end up coming to the boreholes to get water? Because it is the only source of water that is safe to drink," Chris Vatoko added.
Director of the Coalition Water Association in Harare, Arnold Mudzingwa, blamed the shortage of water on drought that affected the 'amount of raw water available'. Among drought consequents, he named the temporal closure of the Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant in Chitungwiza, the primary water source for several residential areas, including Chitungwiza, Hatfield and Msasa.
"The city is producing less than around 200 to 250 mega litres per day, and the demand in the metropolitan province is 1200. And you know of that, amount that is being produced which is around 250 mega litres, 35 percent is lost through physical losses. So, it is not reaching citizens," Mudzingwa noted.
Meanwhile, Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, claimed that that although the water from the plant meets the world health standards, the process of water treatment is hindered by a lack of purifying chemicals and its outdated facilities.
"The water, as it leaves our plant, it is up to world health standards. But [with] the ageing infrastructure, there is some contamination as it gets to the residents, he said. So, the solution would be to rebuild the infrastructure, renew it and make sure that the water is not contaminated along the way."
According to the local media, infrastructure for piped water in the city was built more than half a century ago for a population of 300,000 people. The current metropolitan area population reached 4,5 million people.
The persisting drought is reportedly attributed to the 'El Nino' weather phenomenon, which can result in both extreme weather conditions at once - extended droughts and excessive rainfall or flooding.
Harare residents are forced to survive with minimum of drinking water as deep clean water crisis hit Zimbabwe's capital following the city's water treatment plant shutdown in August.
Footage filmed on Thursday shows residents of Mbare, a densely populated suburb of Harare, gathered around a borehole to collect water buckets and bottles.
"We honestly wish that the water council could give us water even for at least three days because, these days, we can even be left for more than a week without water," Susan Mutengwa commented.
Residents described dire circumstances they faced due to the unavailability of 'any constant service delivery of water'.
"We are struggling with water issues because we no longer have an option but to go to the water points, and in most cases, when you get there, it would be full of people," Mutengwa explained.
"We sometimes get tap water, but it is no longer clean, so its use is for only washing laundry, but in terms of drinking it, you can't. Hence, why do we then end up coming to the boreholes to get water? Because it is the only source of water that is safe to drink," Chris Vatoko added.
Director of the Coalition Water Association in Harare, Arnold Mudzingwa, blamed the shortage of water on drought that affected the 'amount of raw water available'. Among drought consequents, he named the temporal closure of the Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant in Chitungwiza, the primary water source for several residential areas, including Chitungwiza, Hatfield and Msasa.
"The city is producing less than around 200 to 250 mega litres per day, and the demand in the metropolitan province is 1200. And you know of that, amount that is being produced which is around 250 mega litres, 35 percent is lost through physical losses. So, it is not reaching citizens," Mudzingwa noted.
Meanwhile, Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, claimed that that although the water from the plant meets the world health standards, the process of water treatment is hindered by a lack of purifying chemicals and its outdated facilities.
"The water, as it leaves our plant, it is up to world health standards. But [with] the ageing infrastructure, there is some contamination as it gets to the residents, he said. So, the solution would be to rebuild the infrastructure, renew it and make sure that the water is not contaminated along the way."
According to the local media, infrastructure for piped water in the city was built more than half a century ago for a population of 300,000 people. The current metropolitan area population reached 4,5 million people.
The persisting drought is reportedly attributed to the 'El Nino' weather phenomenon, which can result in both extreme weather conditions at once - extended droughts and excessive rainfall or flooding.