Suburban
Suburban Reporter
RESIDENTS of Bedford Gardens in Avondale are in the grip of a water crisis as they have received council tap water for only one day since the beginning of the New Year.
Last year, Bedford Gardens residents along Bedford Road were among Avondale residents who had to endure long periods without council tap water.
In December last year, Avondale residents felt abandoned as the City of Harare failed to provide council tap water for a number of weeks running into a month for some.
Residents from roads such as Aberdeen, Beveridge and Oxford then expressed their frustration over the water crisis.
At the time of last year’s crisis, Bedford Gardens said they had water for only two nights and one day since November 8.
“The life of crossing busy King George Road with 20-litre buckets and going up the stairs is gruesome…,” complained one resident last year.
And it appears the New Year has just started the way 2022 ended for residents at Bedford Gardens.
“Still not a drop of water at Bedford Gardens, Bedford Road, Avondale. We have had one day of water in January (2023),” said a resident.
This means a whole month without water and residents having to incur additional costs as they have to buy water from bulk water suppliers or cross busy roads carrying buckets of water fetched from other parts of the suburb.
Council continues to bill property owners even for non-delivered services particularly water and refuse collection which remain a huge challenge for the municipality.
Residents always complain that City of Harare officials remain quiet when ratepayers are in desperate need for a service. The residents say the state of affairs mirrors a total collapse of services at the City of Harare with nobody bothered to explain the issues.
Two weeks ago, the municipality advised customers and stakeholders that the recommissioning of Morton Jaffray Treatment Plant was in progress after it was shut down on January 13 this year.
“The shutdown was due to challenges within the water treatment chemicals supply chain and compounded by recent inclement weather patterns in raw material source countries.
“The initial target flow for Morton Jaffray is 200 mega litres and 65 mega litres for Prince Edward.
‘‘The target flow will still affect a number of suburbs which will receive minimum to zero flow until more chemicals are received.
‘‘The city regrets any inconveniences caused,” the city said in a statement on its Facebook Page.
In November last year, the City of Harare resorted to rationing water as purification of water at its treatment plants remained suppressed due to unreliable supply of chemicals.
Production at Morton Jaffray Water Works stood at 136 megalitres out of an available capacity of 450ML while at Prince Edward council was producing only 78ML.
Ironically, Lake Chivero one of Harare’s water sources started spilling on Wednesday this week although this does not easily translate to water flowing in residents’ taps because council continues to struggle to secure chemicals to purify the water to make it safe for domestic use.
