Harare City Council Under Fire After Sludge Flows Through Kuwadzana Roads

Harare City Council has come under heavy criticism after sludge from water reservoirs spilled onto roads in Kuwadzana.

Pictures and videos showing the murky waste flowing from tanks and along residential roads sparked outrage online.

The developments came as council continued with a reservoir cleaning exercise in the suburb.

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Council explains sludge spill

In a statement, the City of Harare said it was aware of the images and videos circulating on social media.

The council said the cleaning exercise followed an earlier notice issued on 28 August.

It said water supplies to Kuwadzana Extension would remain suspended until the work was completed.

“Unfortunately some houses are located around our dislodging valve and sludge is flowing along roads,” council said.

The local authority insisted that the sludge does not pose a health risk to residents.

“However, the sludge is not harmful but composed of residue from water treatment chemicals which accumulate over time,” it said.

Sludge accumulates in reservoirs

According to council, sludge naturally settles at the bottom of water tanks.

It can build up over time and must be removed periodically.

The authority said the current operation in Kuwadzana is aimed at clearing this accumulated residue.

“Sludge settles at the bottom of tanks and accumulates over time and needs to be cleared from time to time which is the exact process happening in Kuwadzana,” council said.

The council added that it has now established a dedicated team to clean its reservoirs.

It said the team was working to complete the exercise as quickly as possible.

Netizens lash out at council

Despite the explanation, the council faced a barrage of criticism from social media users.

Some questioned why residents had to endure sludge flowing through roads during the cleaning process.

Others raised concerns about the appearance of the waste and whether adequate measures had been taken to control its flow.

The incident also renewed broader concerns about Harare’s water infrastructure and the condition of the city’s reservoirs.

Here are some of the comments;

@Softie Edwin

Ukutaura zvisina basa, why uri kudischarge tsvina muroad munotambira vana, hamusi kuputa madrugs imimi

@Farai Mparirwa;

“sludge is not harmful..”
What manner of language is that?
Had this deluge spilled into streets of Chisipiti ,Borrowdale or Umswindale language would have read, “our engineers are working 24hrs to contain the toxic waste..”
To be poor is a crime!

@Gondai Mazhuwa;

You are polluting the environment. Why dont you have draining pipes out of residential houses with kids? This is serious pollution into people’s houses . The City of Harare , you can do better

@Ella Tun;

You should be sued for environmental nuisance. It’s not normal to dispose your sludge into people’s residences

@Jayaguru Mwanangu;

This is nonsense, even if you say it’s harmless why would you dispose of waste matter into the public? Munopenga here vanhu imimi? No wonder makapoisoner hove dzemuna chivero

@Tafadzwa Chenjerai;

Don’t be this incompetent. ‘It’s not harmful’ is not an excuse for allowing sludge to flow through residential roads. Proper planning, containment and disposal should have been in place before the exercise started. Residents deserve better than careless execution followed by excuses

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