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Yeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent
Harare City Council is rehabilitating grit elevators and biological water filters at Firle and Crowborough wastewater treatment plants to improve reticulation and increase wastewater treated at the plant.

The two plants receive 205 mega litres per day of wastewater, with 83 mega litres being treated to satisfactory effluent quality as per Environmental Management Agency (EMA) standards.

According to recent Environmental Management Committee minutes, city engineer Mabhena Moyo reported that the treatment capacity has been affected by numerous breakdowns at the major treatment plants that have been treating only 83 mega litres instead of 219 mega litres per day.

The city’s waste management services encompass collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal of sewage from Harare to five sewage treatment plants.

It has more than 5 500km of sewage reticulation collection networks.

“During the period under review, the treatment plants received 205mg/l of waste water with only 83mg/l being treated to satisfactory effluent quality according to according to Environmental Management Agency standards,” read the minutes.

Numerous breakdowns at the major treatment plants of Firle and Crowborough were affecting the treatment capacity.

“Repair of grit elevators at Firle, BNR units and biological filters at both plants is currently underway to urgently increase the capacity by 136 mega litres per day to cover the shortfall,” read the minutes.

The city also plans to purchase sewer rods to augment high velocity and vacuum jet mobile vehicles in scouring and cleaning sand in the reticulation   system.

Council believes through carrying out rehabilitation works at all major reticulation systems and treatment infrastructures, public health threats and environmental pollution would drastically be reduced.