Game-Changer: Massive 45 Megaliter Water Treatment Plant to End Epworth’s Water Crisis

By Kudzai Jakachira.

Harare-The Epworth Local Board is embarking on a massive infrastructure project set to revolutionize water access for residents in the Harare East suburb through the construction of a substantial water treatment plant.

A comprehensive Master Plan was recently presented to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, outlining the development of this essential facility at Lyndhurst Dam.

The water treatment plant’s primary importance lies in its ability to
draw raw, untreated water from the dam and process it into clean and safe drinking water, directly solving the severe public health and logistical crisis caused by the current lack of reliable supply.

This ambitious facility is projected to produce a daily output of nearly 45 megaliters of clean and safe drinking water.

This significant increase in supply is crucial for ensuring that all Epworth residents have reliable access to clean, adequate, and safe water — a basic necessity that is currently lacking for nearly half the community. 💧

Epworth Local Board Town Secretary, Dr. Wilton Mhanda, underscored the
urgency of the project, highlighting the current service gap.

“Only 57% of our formal units have access to improved water supply, which is way below our required target. Our thrust as the local authority is to improve water supply, making sure every citizen has
access to clean and safe drinking water,” said Dr. Mhanda.

The construction of the water treatment plant is a direct response to this challenge, aiming to drastically improve water supply and sanitation conditions in the area.

The Epworth Local Authority revealed that Lyndhurst Dam will serve as the holding dam for the new treatment facility. The plan includes developing the $45 megaliter capacity reservoirs at Ventersburg and installing dedicated trunk water lines connecting the dam, the
treatment plant, and the reservoirs.

To ensure the project’s successful execution and effective long-term
management, the local authority is collaborating with key expert partners
namely; the The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and the Upper
Manyame Sub Catchment Council (UMSCC).

The Master Plan, which guides land use and development in the Epworth Local Government Area, is aligned with national goals, including Vision 2030, and international mandates such as the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals.

The construction of this massive water treatment plant is a flagship initiative of the plan, targeting the community’s most critical infrastructural and public health needs.

Constituents interviewed by the news correspondents expressed a measure
of relief regarding the initiative, articulating that the protracted
water scarcity afflicting the Epworth community had evolved into a
considerable impediment.

Given that the insufficient water provision had become a pervasive occurrence, this persistent challenge has been a source of significant apprehension. Consequently, the proposed establishment of a water treatment facility is anticipated to be instrumental in ensuring the populace secures an adequate supply to sustain their requirements and uphold salutary hygiene protocols.

“The predicament of water access had become acutely distressing for us, the denizens of Epworth. We are exceedingly pleased that the Epworth Local Board is proceeding with the construction of a water purification infrastructure that will provide a sufficient volume of water, which will also be potable and secure for all inhabitants of the locality. This project will unequivocally enhance our community as
we endeavor to achieve municipal status in the near future,” commented Regis Muchingami, a resident of the Epworth locality.

Another resident, Sankani Solomon, said that potential public health risks were also becoming imminent, primarily because the majority of the locations where water was being procured had become excessively congested and were characterized by disorder as individuals competed intensely to access the vital resource, which had
grown exceedingly scarce.

“As residents of Epworth, we are immensely gratified that we will possess our proprietary water purification installation, which will dispense an ample water supply to every member of the community. The antecedent circumstances had deteriorated severely, and we were increasingly apprehensive of contracting waterborne illnesses and facing health perils stemming from the substantial congestion encountered during water procurement,” Solomon said.