The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Municipal Reporter
BULAWAYO residents are reportedly drilling boreholes without the local authority’s approval, but the council has indicated that it will soon descend on the culprits.
Investigations revealed that some residents especially in the low density suburbs were drilling boreholes without council’s consent.
It was further revealed that a majority of households with illegal boreholes drilled them between 2013 and 2014 at the height of the city’s water-shedding regime, where residents went for 96 hours a week without water supplies.
The local authority said illegal borehole drillers were endangering their own health as in most cases they contaminate their boreholes which they then connect to the city’s water mains, which in turn pollutes the entire mains system.
Responding to written questions from Sunday News, BCC senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu revealed that it was difficult for them to prosecute illegal borehole drillers as they relied on anonymous tips.
“All boreholes in the City of Bulawayo should be drilled with the consent of council. A letter from the council will normally inform the applicant to register the borehole with Zinwa. Any illegal drilling of boreholes should be reported to BCC and Zinwa. In the absence of such reports council would not be aware of such illegal drillings.
“It should also be borne in mind that council has stipulated distances from septic tanks and sewer lines where drilling can be done to avoid contamination of the boreholes. For septic tanks, the stipulated distances should be 30 metres from the septic tank while for sewer lines it should be at least five metres and above,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She said there was an increase in cases where some of the illegal borehole drillers go on to connect their boreholes to the city’s water mains which went on to affect the entire system.
“It is noted that illegal borehole drillers may be endangering their own health and if they illegally connect these boreholes to city water mains, they also endanger the health of other residents. It is therefore critical that such breaches of by-laws are reported to the relevant authorities. Anonymous reports are welcome,” she said.
Commenting on the trend, Engineer Khonzaphi Dube who is a member of the Water Institute of Southern Africa said it was unfortunate that residents were falling victim of backyard borehole drinking companies, who he said in most cases ignore the basic principles of drilling hence expose residents to various health hazards.
