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Innocent Ruwende Municipal Reporter
Harare City Council says there will be less complete shutdowns of its main water treatment plant, Morton Jaffray, after city engineers and their Chinese counterparts finished installing critical equipment at the plant over the weekend. Residents endured a dry weekend after the city shut down its water treatment plant to allow for maintenance work.Pumping only resumed yesterday afternoon and residents who live along the trunk mains were expected to receive water yesterday while the rest of the city is expected to get water supplies today.

In an interview after a tour of Morton Jaffray, Harare Water director Eng Christopher Zvobgo said during the shutdown a number of valves that were essential and will reduce the number of shutdowns were replaced.

“We replaced valves in the mixing chamber during that time as well. We also had to replace our suction delivering valves in our main pump station which is Pump Station Number 3 so that when we are going to install the new pumps we do not again keep on isolating the whole works.

“On top of that we also took the chance to install new blowers. When you are backwashing and filtering you need to blow air to ensure that the filter sand is clean. What it now means is that we are able to control the flow into our water works. We can control how much water we can pump in or reduce, we were not able to do before,” he said.

He said the city can now accurately measure inflow and outflow. Eng Zvobgo said it normally takes about two hours for residents who live along the trunk mains to start receiving water after major maintenance work.

Eng Zvobgo said the city does not require the services of divers anymore since they found an alternative way of closing a tunnel in Lake Chivero whose valve was not opening. “Shutdowns will be less and less there will be partial shutdowns for a shorter period maybe eight hours. We are basically on target because all the equipment, all the pumps are here what remains is the installation. That is why you see all these shutdowns we want to complete the works,” he said.

Harare City Council is implementing the Harare Water and Sanitation Rehabilitation Project under the US$144 million Chinese facility. Work on the project began in April 2013 and the contractor China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) has completed various works.

Upon completion of the project, water supply is expected to rise to 670 megalitres from 400 megalitres.