Hatcliffe water situation improves

Comment & Analysis
By Shingayi JenaWATER provision in Hatcliffe 1 and 2 gradually improved in the past two weeks with residents managing to receive at least two days of uninterrupted flow in their housing units.

The area is one of the worst affected in the Harare metropolitan province with dwellers waking up to queue for water at community boreholes sunk by Unicef before dawn.

Harare Residents Trust (HRT) community coordinator for the area, Ronia Gwaze, said the development would alleviate pressure on the boreholes and improve sanitation at household level.

“Residents on lower ground in Hatcliffe are ecstatic following the advent of running water in their household units in the past two weeks,” she said.

Across town in the south western suburbs of Kuwadzana Phase 3 and Dzivarasekwa, construction of a water pump station is near completion.

The station, based in Dzivarasekwa 2, is meant to start increasing water pressure from the two reservoirs, relieving water woes in the area by the end of June 2012.

Pevimagi Chipindu, the managing director of  Pevimagi (Pvt) Ltd, which has partnered the City of Harare, said the pressure booster would ensure water supply in the targeted areas by end of the first half of the year.

“The pump station is to boost the water supply in the area and we are already halfway through with construction,” said Chipindu.

He said the junction station in Dzivarasekwa supplied water to Kuwadzana Phase 3 adding that the pipe in place had become too small to adequately supply water to the growing population.

Willmore Mativenga, the HRT community coordinator, covering suburbs such as Greendale, Mandara, Chisipite, Highlands and the Grange indicated that scores of residents have gone for close to a decade without running water, yet they are charged for the unused council water infrastructure.

Harare South areas of Uplands, Shortson, Hilton, Picnic Park and Cheviot continue to receive water once every week on Wednesdays.

The water is usually dirty with residents of Uplands and Cheviot now preferring water from boreholes.