Harare’s water pollution crisis is intensifying due to failing infrastructure, inadequate management, and ongoing legal disputes, according to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). Addressing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government after Glen View Residents petitioned Parliament on lack of clean water Steady Kangata, EMA’s Acting Director General, highlighted major contributors to the problem.
“The major activities that pollute both surface and underground water include effluent discharge from malfunctioning sewer treatment facilities, solid waste disposal and industrial discharges from industrial zones such as Southerton and Workington,” said Kangata
Kangata revealed that the City of Harare has not been submitting quarterly reports on the city’s discharge points. “The Harare City Council has not applied for licences since 2020, and quarterly reports for discharge points are not being submitted. The council has a pending high court case with EMA concerning illegal discharge points into the environment,” said Kangata
EMA’s monitoring efforts have yielded alarming results, with all sampled points falling into the RED class, indicating severe pollution levels. “Some of the designated discharge points are no longer discharging due to most losses before the treatment plants. At Firle sewage treatment plant all the effluent is diverted to Pond 4 then to Mukuvisi River which is an illegal discharge The Hartcliffe treatment plant was supposed to use its effluent for irrigation but due to the malfunction of the pumps they have been discharging illegally into the nearby stream,” Kangata told the committee
He stressed the urgency of addressing these issues: “There is circularity between water supply and sanitation. Poor solid and effluent waste management inflates the cost of supplying potable water. We must revamp all sewer reticulation and treatment infrastructure in Harare to protect both surface and groundwater resources.”
Since 2020, Kangata revealed that EMA has taken several steps against the Local Authority to curb the pollution and these measures include issuing twenty orders, fifty fines, and bringing the authority before the courts and the Environment Management Board twice each.
Kangata proposed critical interventions to mitigate the pollution crisis, including ring-fencing funds collected by the Harare City Council for wastewater and solid waste management rehabilitation, capitalizing the Environmental Fund to assist in rehabilitation and restoration efforts and developing bylaws for managing trade wastes and litter.
“The contamination of groundwater may leave residents without a viable alternative,” Kangata warned, highlighting the dire need for immediate action to safeguard Harare’s water resources.
