Half of the boreholes in Harare’s western and northern districts are contaminated with human waste, the City of Harare epidemiology and disease control officer, Dr Michael Vere, has said.
Harare’s western district covers suburbs such as Highfield, Glen Norah, Glen View, Mbare, Dzivaresekwa, Budiriro, Kuwadzana and Kambuzuma.
The northern district covers Borrowdale, Glen Lorne, Glenwood Park, Newlands, Mabelreign, Highlands, Mabvuku, Tafara, Hatcliffe and Waterfalls.
Vere told <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/50pc-harare-boreholes-unsafe">The Sunday Mail</a> that water samples from boreholes in these areas showed traces of E. coli bacteria, which can cause water-borne diseases like typhoid and cholera.
Harare residents heavily rely on boreholes due to erratic municipal water supply. Said Vere:
<blockquote>
As Harare City Council, we routinely do water quality monitoring in targeted areas where there will be cases of cholera and typhoid.
Through our monitoring programme, we have found out that 50 per cent of boreholes in the western and northern districts are contaminated with sewer and human waste.
</blockquote>
The discovery comes at a time when Harare was battling to contain a cholera outbreak directly linked to water shortages.
Vere said Harare and Chitungwiza require 1 200 megalitres of potable water a day but current water production is around 300 megalitres, a quarter of what is needed. He said:
<blockquote>
Harare and surrounding areas like Chitungwiza need about 1 200 megalitres of water per day, but we are only able to produce 300 megalitres per day.
We have, however, decommissioned a few boreholes but not all of them because of the water challenges we are having in Harare.
</blockquote>
To make the borehole water safe for human consumption, the local authority is doing inline chlorination where it puts chlorine in the boreholes so that the water gets chlorinated.
Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association president Dr Johannes Marisa said there was a need to replace Harare’s water and sewer pipes.
Harare Residents Trust executive director, Precious Shumba, said underground water and sewer pipes need to be upgraded to cope with a ballooning population. He said:
<blockquote>
They are rusty, sand-blocked and leaking in most weak areas resulting in underground water being heavily polluted.
The observations and findings of the City Health Department on the contamination of 50 per cent of borehole water are on point. They reflect the real situation on the ground.
The sizes of the pipes need to be upgraded to reflect the increase in population and the illegal settlements.
Plugging the leakages and illegal connections along the water distribution network is the first step in increasing the amount of water reaching houses connected to the water supply system.
</blockquote>
In 2021, it was reported that 62% of Harare’s treated water was going to waste or was being used without being paid for.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

Half Of Harare's Boreholes Contaminated

The Harare City Council has denied media reports that water samples taken from 15 boreholes in the city were found to have human faecal matter.
In a statement on Monday, the City of Harare admitted that the water was contaminated with E-coli but said the contamination could be from other mammals, and not necessarily from humans. The local authority said:
<blockquote>
The City of Harare has noted recent reports in the media that 15 boreholes in the city were found to have human faecal matter.
E-coli is an indicator organism, indicating possible faecal contamination. 
The tests done do not indicate that it’s human but could be from other mammals as E-coli comes from both.
The City Health Department did routine water quality monitoring of all water sources including boreholes, and municipal water in response to watery diarrhea outbreaks that were reported in some western suburbs and the water sampling implicated some boreholes used by those affected.
The standard procedure is that any water source found contaminated from E-coli is disinfected with chlorine or HtH to make it safe, source of contamination is investigated and dealt with accordingly for example repair of sewer choke and disinfection with chloride of lime to avoid further contamination.
Our water department regularly tests water at various strategic points in the distribution network, particularly water reservoirs and take corrective measures when residual chlorine is below the set standard.
Various zonal Superintendents have regular stock of HTH issued from Morton Jaffrays Waterworks for this purpose.
</blockquote>
The City of Harare said since the discovery of E-coli in water from the boreholes, it has taken several corrective measures. These include:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Installation of inline chlorinator on borehole</li>
<li> Distribution of non food items such as aqua tabs and buckets</li>
<li>Promoting point of use water treatment by use of aqua tabs, waterguard and boiling</li>
<li>Setting up and training of community Water Point Committees to manage the water sources</li>
<li>Health and hygiene education dissemination on prevention and control of diarrheal diseases</li>
<li>Intensified surveillance and response to alerts</li>
<li> Health and hygiene education dissemination on prevention and control of diarrheal diseases</li>
<li>Intensified surveillance and response to alerts</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

Harare City Council Denies Reports Of Human Waste In Borehole Water

The City of Harare has temporarily decommissioned 15 boreholes that were contaminated with human waste in three suburbs.
The boreholes are believed to be the source of typhoid cases reported in Glen Norah, Mbare and Budiriro.
City health authorities tested water samples taken from 127 boreholes in the three suburbs and found significant traces of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, indicating the presence of faecal matter.
Seventy-two (72) suspected typhoid cases are being monitored, while about 20 others have been confirmed.
City epidemiology and disease control officer Dr. Michael Vere said:
<blockquote>
We have tested several boreholes in Harare — a total of 127 — and we discovered that seven boreholes were contaminated with faecal matter in Glen Norah and eight boreholes in Mbare.
We temporarily closed these boreholes and installed in-line chlorinators; these are devices that contain chlorine, which kills all the bacteria in the water to make it safe for use.
These boreholes could have been the source of typhoid infection.
</blockquote>
<h2>Increase potable water supplies</h2>
Vere said the city plans to increase potable water pumped into areas where boreholes have been decommissioned. He said:
<blockquote>
We are working with our Water Department so that affected suburbs get water supplies.
Our health department has recorded 92 cases of suspected typhoid, of which about 20 have been confirmed.
From January 1, we recorded a total of nine cases.
We have seven cases from Glen Norah and two other cases — one each in Highfield and Ushewokunze.
We continued to record an increasing number of cases in Glen Norah and this prompted us to investigate the source of the outbreak.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/human-waste-detected-in-city-boreholes">The Sunday Mail</a>

Human Waste Detected In Borehole Water In Harare

A report by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) says that water in <a href="http://www.pindula.co.zw/Harare">Harare</a> should not be consumed without precautions regardless of the source of water.EMA warned people to be particularly cautious of water from boreholes as most of it is contaminated, some with faecal matter, some with decomposing matter from cemeteries.
EMA also warned people to stop buying water from water vendors in the city as the water could have been bottled using contaminated source.
EMA spokesperson Steady Kangata spoke to the Sunday Mail and said:
<blockquote>We have surveyed places like Hopley, Budiriro and Kambuzuma and from our surveillance, we have established faecal contamination of boreholes. Most of these water sources have sewer bases; so contamination is at the point of extraction.
People should boil water at the point of use, especially those who buy bulk water to fill their tanks. Most people think public boreholes are the ones that are contaminated, but private ones, too, should equally be monitored so that the quality of their water is known.
If water is not potable, then use it for other purposes like laundry or irrigation. In Hopley, for instance, one finds that some houses are close to cemeteries where a grave can be as close as five metres from homes, and all that decomposition affects water.
We are saying people should be more cautious, and this also means stopping this habit of buying water at road intersections because no one knows where that water would have come from.</blockquote>
There have been reports of typhoid in Harare and two weeks back Health Minister <a href="http://www.pindula.co.zw/David_Parirenyatwa" target="_blank">David Parirenyatwa </a>claimed that <a href="http://www.pindula.co.zw/news/2017/01/28/95-boreholes-low-density-areas-like-borrowdale-contaminated-says-parirenyatwa/" target="_blank">95% of borehole water in the low-density areas was contaminated</a>.
More: <a href="http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/no-water-in-harare-is-safe-ema/">Sunday Mail</a>

EMA says no water is safe enough to use without precautions in Harare

Matebeleland North Provinicial Medical Director, Dr Nyasha Masuka said the province was at high risk of water borne diseases as villagers were drinking from unsafe water sources.
Said Masuka:
<blockquote>Toilets are reportedly overflowing and that rise of levels is also causing contamination of water in boreholes and shallow wells. We’re in the process of determining affected areas and the extent of effects.</blockquote>
He also noted that in areas such as Umguza people are using water from untreated sources with the district’s medical director confirming that they have recorded cases of diarrhea linked to use of contaminate water.
More: <a href="http://www.chronicle.co.zw/overflowing-blair-toilets-contaminate-boreholes/">Chronicle</a>

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