Water Shortages To Persist As Power Outages Hit Bindura

Bindura Bureau
Bindura residents have to endure the current water woes bedeviling the town which have been attributed to continuous power cuts being experienced at the waterworks, Nhau/Indaba has heard.

This stems from the fact that the town has no other alternative to pumping the precious liquid serve for electric pumps which are being affected by incessant power outages according to Mayor Brian Kembo who shifted the blame to the central government.

“As long as we don’t have power, people will hardly get enough and reliable water. This is not our problem, this is a government problem and responsibility. We are waiting for the central government to fix the electricity problems,” he said.

It has been almost three months since some households last received taped water leading some to risk contracting Cholera and Typhoid by resorting to using stream bank wells or unprotected water sources which are contaminated as an alternative.

Those with protected alternative sources are availing water to desperate residents for a fee.

This has led some residents to pressure the municipality to drill boreholes in the town, an option that is not currently part of the town authority’s plans.

“The sinking of boreholes, especially in high-density suburbs is not on our plan. The World Health Organisation does not allow us to just sink boreholes everywhere, especially in high-density locations.

“This may be done in low-density suburbs where households have individual soakaways as opposed to the situation in high-density suburbs,” explained councillor Kembo.

As a result, the water shortages have driven entrepreneurs to capitalise on the situation by supplying bulk water to business operators such as restaurant owners, hoteliers as well as private hospitals, and car wash points. Nhau/Indaba