Harare confirms presence of dog waste in city boreholes
Harare- HARARE City Council (HCC) has confirmed the possibility of at least 15 boreholes in the Southern Surburbs being contaminated with dog and cat excreta, Express Mail can report.
HCC spokesperson Innocent Ruwende made the insinuation Tuesday as he responded to reports that human waste contaminated boreholes dotted around the city.
This comes after water samples were tested from several boreholes in the Southern Surburbs after an outbreak of typhoid.
Ruwende dismissed presence of human waste but acknowledged that it was other mammals’ waste.
Mammals are a group of vertebrate animals including rats, cats, dogs and monkeys among others.
Said Ruwende:
“The City of Harare has noted recent reports in the media that 15 boreholes in the city were found to have human faecal matter. E-coli is an indicator organism, indicating possible faecal contamination.
“However, the tests done do not indicate that it’s human, but could be from other mammals as E-coli comes from both,” said Ruwende.
This confirmation left residents dumbfounded after learning that they could be drinking water ‘spiced’ with dog faeces.
“My brother, I immediately vomited when I heard that we could be drinking water laced with dog sh**t.
” I stay close to Farai leisure centre where stray dogs are well fed with the bones that merrymakers leave after braii and these dogs obviously have a fair share of excretion ,and to be told that there is possibility of this excreta contaminating our boreholes is nauseating.
“From now on I will buy drinking water from the supermarkets,” lamented a resident identified as Enius Mutyambizi
Ruwende however said council is working tirelessly in a bid to ensure that they supply clean and safe water to residents.
“The standard procedure is that any water source found contaminated by E-coli is disinfected with chlorine or HtH to make it safe. The source of contamination is investigated and dealt with to prevent further contamination,” he said.
He said HCC has set up water point committees to manage the water sources and embarking on health and hygiene education dissemination on prevention and control of diarrhoeal diseases .
Tap water is only available twice a week in the Southern Surburbs and children born after 2010 actually marvel when tap water is available..it’s a rare spectacle to them!
