[Zimbabwe]
Did I hear someone mention bandwidth hogs?
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Firms Steal Council Water
The Herald (Harare) | 10-27-06
By Tsungirirai Shoriwa
allafrica.com
Harare - NEARLY half of Harare's treated water is being lost to mainly unscrupulous companies and individuals who abuse fire-fighting systems installed on industrial premises and in commercial buildings, and, to a much less extent, through leakages.
Harare City Council's acting director of water and road engineering services Engineer Michael Jaravaza said of the 550 megalitres of water treated and distributed daily, council could not account for 250 megalitres.
Eng Jaravaza said the water is lost through leaks and clandestine use on industrial premises and in commercial buildings.
This has prompted council to launch an intensive blitz targeting companies and industrial firms over the illegal usage of council water through tampering with fire-fighting hydrants.
Eng Jaravaza told participants at the city's turnaround progress report workshop on Wednesday night that council was losing a lot of potential revenue due to siphoning of water by individuals and companies.
"We have discovered that clandestine water use takes 75 percent of unaccounted-for water. Only 25 percent is lost through leaks," Eng Jaravaza said.
It is a council requirement that whenever one is constructing an industrial site, there should be a provision for a fire-fighting system before the plan can be approved.
Eng Jaravaza said the fire-fighting hydrants have hose reels which are connected to the council's main water reticulation system and the water is not metered. This effectively means council cannot bill for such water.
"The purpose is for our firefighters to have a reliable source of water when fighting fire and the water is not metered," said Eng Jaravaza.
He said many companies were now in the habit of tampering the hydrants, drawing off the water for other purposes such as car cleaning, construction and bathing for staff. As a result, council was incurring a heavy loss of revenue.
"We have discovered that this was a very serious loophole. We are on a campaign of sealing these fire-fighting systems. So far we have sealed 185 systems and the blitz is ongoing. We need to capture the water so that it is accounted for. We are actually targeting industries and we are moving in very swiftly.
"That is one way to trace the unaccounted-for water. That is the only starting point," Eng Jaravaza said.
He said since the companies could only break the seals in the event of a fire, any tamperers would be easily discovered and dealt with sternly.
"A heavy penalty would be imposed on those who break the seals without any reasonable grounds. The seals can only be broken in the event of a fire outbreak and nothing else," Eng Jaravaza said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Local Government Public Works and Urban Development Minister Cde Ignatius Chombo commended Harare City Council for the efforts it has made so far in improving sanitation and water supply.
"The thrust to improve water supplies is very commendable in areas like Tafara and Mabvuku, although there is still a lot to be done if Harare is to regain its Sunshine City status," he said.
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