Lupane water woes set to end

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LUPANE — The construction of a water treatment plant for the purification of water from the Bubi-Lupane Dam is set to be completed in August

LUPANE — The construction of a water treatment plant for the purification of water from the Bubi-Lupane Dam, supplying Matabeleland North’s provincial centre, is set to be completed in August.

REPORT BY LUYANDUHLOBO MAKWATI

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority Gwayi catchment manager Engineer Fortune Musoni said the $3 million water purification plant set to be commissioned in August, a year after the dam was commissioned. In an interview on Monday, Musoni said the plant will be the solution to Lupane’s water problems since ageing boreholes were now characterised by constant breakdowns. He decried the water situation in Lupane saying residents in the provincial capital were living in constant competition for the precious liquid.

“I am convinced that the treatment plant will be fully functional in August and the perennial water problems characterising the provincial capital will be over,” Musoni said.

He noted that the water that was available in the 40,3 million cubic metre dam had not been treated and was only benefiting construction companies.

“The water from the dam is currently used by Lupane State University for their construction purposes and we only connected a pipeline to them because water for building purposes does not require any treatment,” he said.

The dam is expected to provide more than 60 000 people with consistent water supply and it is expected to boost agricultural activities within the area.

The construction of the purification plant started in 2011 and the provincial capital has been relying on four boreholes only in the past.