Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant Incapacitated
A Chinese company, CMEC, which is refurbishing the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant has said that the plant is no longer up for the task of supplying water to Harare residents. The company notes that the ever-increasing Harare population has gone beyond the limits the plant was designed to supply.
The plant was designed to supply a population of 300 000 as compared to the 1,5 million people currently living in Harare. There is also an issue of Harare workers who reside in dormitory towns such as Norton, Chitungwiza, Ruwa and others.
In an interview with the Herald yesterday, CMEC project executive director, Mr Cao Yang, said:
The Morton Jaffray water plant was built more than 60 years ago to meet the water demands of the city of 300 000 to 400 000 population at that time. However, due to urbanisation the population of the city has considerably increased and even if Morton Jaffray was working at full capacity it would still not be able to meet the current water demands of the city.
Solving the water problem of the City of Harare is a very complex issue that requires many different corrective measures to be taken. This project was not intended to solve the entire water issue for the City of Harare but simply to replace the old equipment of Morton Jaffray and other existing old stations so that they can be restored to working order for the next 20-30 years.
Harare is currently facing a huge water deficit and the council has resorted to rationing resulting in some suburbs going for more than six months without water.
More: The Herald
