Water shortages loom in Harare

Munashe Mukahlera

Harare City Council has to find other sources of chlorine gas for use in water purification, as its usual supplier is failing to meet demand.

On average, the city fathers require 16 tanks per week, but last week they only received four.

Acting water production manager, engineer Addmore Chawasemerwa, said, “The shortage reduces volumes of water which is produced and the problem is already upon us.”

City of Harare spokesperson, Michael Chideme says the shortage is likely to be felt in the long run if it is not addressed.

“If we do not have chlorine gas, it means we are reducing the amount of water that we are treating. We understand there are problems in South Africa with the manufacturer so our supplier is always having problems in accessing frequent amounts of chlorine gas which is directly affecting the city of Harare.

We are now pre-warning residents that there could be a problem in the near future if the situation in South Africa does not improve,” he said.