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Midlands Bureau
Gweru City Council has embarked on a borehole rehabilitation programme to improve the city’s water back-up system, particularly if a breakdown occurs at its main water works, the city’s mayor, Councillor Charles Chikozho, has said.

Gweru residents spent two days without water following a major power outage at the city’s water works on New Year’s Eve. Clr Chikozho said the local authority, which has no back-up power system at its Gwenoro water works, will make sure that all the city boreholes were rehabilitated.

“We had a bad experience on New Year when the entire city had no water, resulting in an outrage from residents. At the moment, there has not been anything to fall back on in case of such emergencies, but we are now rehabilitating our boreholes,” he said.

Clr Chikozho said the local authority, with the help of some non-Governmental organisations, sunk boreholes in all suburbs some five years ago, but most of them were no longer functional.

“Most of these boreholes were no longer functional, so we will be rehabilitating them so that residents can use borehole water when there is a breakdown at our plant,” he said.