HISTORY OF HARARE’S WATER SUPPLY

•Zimbabwe was colonized in September 1890 when the Pioneer Column settled around the Harare Kopje.

•At that point the Mukuvisi river and its tributaries were more than adequate to supply the small resident population with all their water supply requirements.

•As the City grew in size and increased its commercial and industrial activities, it became necessary to build storage dams.

•The following water bodies were then built :-Cleveland dam In early 1900s , between 1900 and 1952 Seke Dam and Harahwa, In 1952 Lake Chivero and In 1975 Manyame Lake and Ruwa Dam were built to augment the city’s water supply increased needs

Storage Tanks Within The City

Storage tanks were constructed in different parts of the city and this enabled house holds and industry to have easy access to water from these storage tanks.

. Only a few of them are mentioned here so that we get a sense of there distribution:-

• Kambuzuma Hill Tank supply Mufakose, Kuwadzana, Dzivarasekwa, Warren Park area, Highfield,Glenora, Glenview, Canaan, Egypt and Lusaka

• The Harare Kopje supply Mbare, The Industries and the city centreEmeraldHill supply Malboreign, Marlborough, Mount Pleasant and some northern suburbs

• Botanic Garden supply parts of Avondale, city centre• Greendale supply the western suburbs

More tanks are required to efficiently and effectively supply Ruwa, Epworth, and some northern residential area which of late have gone for weeks without water

Major Uses of the water1The water is now used for:-• Domestic and industrial use,

• Irrigation of wheat, maize and vegetable fields on land just below the dam wall and

• Lake Chivero and Lake Manyame are also used for recreational purposes.

2 The water body is also a fishery where a number of fishing cooperatives are permitted and licensed to fish and as a fishery it has a huge market in Harare and the satellite towns and suburbs.

It is not easy to mange a multipurpose water body because of different demands and the standard requirements for each purpose.

The Lake’s Recreations facilities

Game Park, Chivero National Park, created around the dam in order to slow down siltation of the water body and is stocked with wildlife and fish (the game park is on the southern part of the lake) and has:-

• Camp Sites, Chalets and lodges built to accommodate game viewing public that may want to spend a night or two in the area and

• Boat Clubs for recreational sailing and boating some of which have restaurants and most of the legalized recreational fishing is done from these clubs which are located on the north bank of the lake.

• Birds sanctuaries, e.g. Kuimba Shiri Birds Sanctuary

The proximity of Lake Chivero to Harare and the Lion and Cheetah Park makes it popular for day visitors from and around Harare

Socio-economic and Political Implication of the Lake and Its Basin

• Lake Chivero ,together with its satellite dams of Cleveland, Harahwa, Seke and Ruwa ,made it possible for Harare to develop as the Capital City and as industrial hub of Zimbabwe.

• However, the city is beginning to suffer from lake of sufficient water to satisfy the water demand and the needs of residents and the industries.

• The water demand now out weighs the supply and there is now only one site that is suitable for an additional big dam, the proposed Kunzvi Dam or Harare may also draw water from the Mazoe dam.

• Future new developments may have to be moved to other parts of Zimbabwe. This may be good as this allows other parts of Zimbabwe to develop too

Government Intervention

• Because of water shortages and the now limited supply of water, Government has been forced to look seriously at water conservation and management of surface, ground water (boreholes) and water catchment areas. This resulted in the creation of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA).

• As a result the water management role is now spread over many government institutions

• This means that water conservation, management and pollution control in Zimbabwe is now done by a number of Government institutions such as ZINWA, EMA, PWMA and the Municipalities but there is no coordinating body. This has caused challenges which Government needs to address.

Impairments to Lake resource Uses

• Expansion of the City of Harare has been accompanied by a number of serious impairments which will require to be addressed and the following are some of the impairments:-

A) Eutrophication and Pollution

• Lake Chivero has accumulated phosphates and nitrates since 1952 resulting the spread of algal blooms and carpets of water hycinth and pistia.

• Water quality is now poor there is now no research and monitoring body to what the City Chemist and the Hydrobiology Research Unit of the University of Zimbabwe used to do prior to 1981

B) There is lack of a coordinating management body to water related activities done by ZINWA, Harare City ,PWMA, EMA and lake users like fishermen, boat clubs and others.

C) There is no research body and no water research fund

Results of impairmentsThis has resulted Increased:-

• Build up of pollutants and nutrients resulted in increased algal blooms,

• Growth and spread of water hyacinth and pistia,

• Salinity from agricultural fertilizers and chemical generated by industrial activities ,

• Generation of poisonous substances from sediments, such ammonia which in combination with other minerals are causing mass fish kills and poisoning especially when the thermocline breaks down at the end of summer or when the river floods disturbs the thermocline.

• The destruction of Wetlands and vleis in the catchment area also means that wetlands no longer play a part in natural river water purification and in preventing siltation of the Rivers and,

• This is made worse by cutting of trees for firewood and clearing land for urban agriculture

Causes of the Impairments

1) Lack of coordination on part of the Government organizations tasked to manage and control the utilization of water resources.

2) ZIMWA was given the role of managing water catchments and the water allocation to water users; it has no means to actual manage the conservation aspect of its mandate.

3) PWMA is mandated to look after the fisheries, and other animals like hippos, crocodiles and water birds but appears to be not responsible for water quality management.

4) Before 1980 water quality management, water storage and its distribution to users was under City Chemist Department of the Municipality of Harare. The situation now is confused and caused by the creation of ZINWA which has no capacity to manage and control water quality requirements and standards

ImpairmentsWater treatment works

5) In the early 1970 to 1980 the installation of phosphorus removing sewage treatment plant and the diversion of trickle filter outflow to pastures removed the phosphorus from the Industrial and domestic water effluents resulting in the reduced loading of phosphorus into the lake. This led to the recovery of the lake.

6 However the lake reverted to a eutrophic state because of increased inflow of industrial and domestic effluents in the Lake and removal of water management role from the City of Harare to ZINWA and shutting down of the University’s Hydrobiology Research Unit due to lack of funds. The research funds were provided by the Harare Municipality and the Ministry of Water Development.

7 The monitoring role was moved to Zinwa but ZINWA was not capacitated to carry out this mandate

Impairments8) Because of the shift in management roles, the solid and

hazardous industrial wastes are no longer adequately covered by the ZINWA and the City Council Authorities and EMA have no capacity to monitor, control and patrol the industrial effluent producing activities and to make sure that the disposal of the waste is in line with the law and the minimum standards.

9) Due to the economic melt down which started in late 1995 the collection and the disposal of domestic waste has become irregular due to lack of transport and fuel. This has added to the solid organic and inorganic material ending up in Lake Chivero

10) Sewage treatment equipment now too old with limited capacity to handle large sewage volumes and

11) Increased population and industrial activities now consume large quantities of and produce large volumes of polluted effluents.

SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION1) Sewage and Industrial Effluents2) Fertilizer and chemicals used in agriculture3) Run off from the streets carrying oils, grease and

chemicals used in the motor industries4) Domestic waste and litter scattered all over in the

urban environment5) Degraded soils generated by urban agriculture and

stream bank agriculture6) Increased water flow during the rain season as a result

of tree cutting, wildfires and wetlands / Vlei that have been converted by local Government and the city fathers into residential and business parks and

7) Mining operations including mineral rich runoff from the Great Dyke.

Structural Management of Lake Chivero Resources

The following are the organizations involved in Lake Chivero management:-

1 The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (PWMA) manages the land around the Lake and and manages the fishery.

2 Environmental Management Authority (EMA) is the overall conservation ,

3 Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is the Government Agent for water conservation, management and protection of water catchment areas,

4) The municipality of Harare extracts water for distribution to the City and the satellite towns and also responsible for garbage collection and disposal (all waste management) This includes purification of water and treatment of sewage and industrial effluents and

5 Other players are the Fishing Companies, cooperatives and recreational fishing individuals all supervised by National Parks Authority

Lack of Management Capacity in Government Departments

• In summary there is no Government Department or Agency which is equipped to deal with all the water problems of the city and there is need for Government to examine appropriate structures to deal with water supply problems in all cities and find effective ways of recycling of treated and purified water. It should also look into the monitoring, controlling and managing of urban runoff and the disposal of waste produced by informal manufacturing sector.

Zimbabwe’s Weaknesses in the Provision of Clean Water

Weaknesses are in the form of:-1The fragmented pieces of legislation and Policies and lack of a

coordinating body2 No Tax and economic incentives given to those who comply

with the Legislative Requirements,3 No Public awareness campaigns to make people/ industry

aware of the need to comply with the various pieces of legislation that control the conservation and management of water and the environment to prevent health hazards,

4 lack of mechanisms to involve Universities, NGOs and CBOs in research and public awareness campaigns

5 Lack of Research Fund‘6 Lack of involvement of the public, industries and individuals

as partners and tools that can be used in the provision of clean water.

THANK YOUAll Life Depends on Water

Compiled by Willie K. Nduku