Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
The 11,4 mega litre water reservoir built of steel and cement in Beitbridge by the Government in partnership with the Zimborders Consortium, will end water challenges that have dogged the town for a long time, stakeholders have said.
A combination of the rapid growth of Beitbridge town in the last few years, and incompetence on the part of opposition councillors, had stretched the municipality’s capacity to provide clean water to residents.
But the water reservoir, which is part of the five major out-of-port works that came with the modernisation of the Beitbridge Border Post, is expected to eliminate water challenges in the border town.
Other projects associated with the expansion and modernisation of the border include a new a fire station, animal plant and quarantine centre, a sewer oxidation dam and a staff village with 220 houses for Government workers deployed to the border.
The 11,4 Ml new reservoir with a floating roof, was constructed atop the Mawale Hills.
The contractor is now busy with necessary ancillary works that will see it being connected to the town’s water reticulation facilities.
Beitbridge has an estimated population of 100 000 and absorbs the strain of 15 000 travellers passing through the border daily.
Before the latest development, the town’s storage facilities could only carry 10,4 megalitres.
The area requires at least 18 megalitres of water daily and storage facilities to carry 54 megalitres, enough for three days.
In addition, it is projected that in the next 10 years as the population continues to rocket, Beitbridge municipality should have storage facilities to carry about 100 megalitres of water, which would be enough to cover three days.
Zimborders has since commissioned the water tank and handed it over to council for further management.
Engineer Stephen Rupiya, the Zimborders clerk of works, recently said a test run of the facility had been completed.
“To enhance durability, we used the strongest cement and steel which gets stronger as it ages. This is a lifetime investment that will address water problems in this town. In addition, the reservoir is located atop a higher hill, enabling it to supply water across the town through gravity should we have power cuts,” said Engineer Rupiya.
District Development Coordinator Mrs Sikhangezile Mafu-Moyo, who is also the local Civil Protection Committee chairperson, said the new water infrastructure was a welcome development.
She said it will ease the pressure on existing facilities around the town. The supply of enough clean, safe drinking water was one of the major service delivery issues in Beitbridge
“We are happy to have additional water management infrastructure in our area which also handles thousands of people in transit daily,” she said. This is a relief to the Municipality of Beitbridge, which had a mammoth task to an ever increasing population. We are seeing some of the previous water and sanitation health (WASH) challenges gradually becoming history, especially if we look like the spread of diseases like cholera.
“A healthy community contributes meaningfully to the development of the district.”
Beitbridge mayor Councillor Munyaradzi Chitsunge said once the additional reservoir is fully operational, they expect households that were not receiving water to start getting the water, which will boost revenues for council.
“Generally people associate rates with water; so once there is that increase in revenue collection, council can now expedite connecting the whole town to the water network,” said Clr Chitsunge.
“We have over 14 000 properties in our town and out of those, only 7 700 are connected to water or receiving service fully or are being billed. So, you will note that big variance of almost 50 percent is not acceptable especially when you look at water distribution or supply.”
Youthful entrepreneur and business person Mr Kudakwashe Garayipasi said water is key to attracting investment in the town and general human survival. The rise in Beitbridge population had caused some water problems, hence the 11,4 megalitres water reservoir would bridge the existing water supply gap.
District WASH chairperson Mr Tinashe Ngundu said the new suburbs north of Dulivhadzimu, Milayo industrial area and some properties in Tshidixwa suburbs (OJz medium density areas), have over the years not been on the consistent supply line from the urban municipality water reticulation system.
“With the completion of the new 11,4 Ml reservoir, the municipality now has the capacity to feed through to most parts of the residential areas including Khwalu Area, which has places like the famous cholera hotspots and SDP areas that have not tasted municipality water since construction,” he said.
“This project is really a huge milestone for the town council as it will result in improved service delivery and also curb the spread of diarrhoeal diseases.”
A representative for the Beitbridge Residents Association, Mrs Rumbedzani Ribombo, said the community was excited that the water infrastructure had been upgraded in tandem with the town’s population growth.
“We appreciate the massive infrastructure developments in our town, especially on the aspect of improving the water supply infrastructure and roads,” she said.
Tshidixwa suburb resident Mr Raniel Ndou applauded the Government for intervening to address water supply challenges.
“This is a great intervention considering that even when we have power cuts which are affecting the water treatment plant, residents can still get water from the reservoir through gravity,” said Mr Ndou
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