Harare Municipality has increased its water coverage from 40 percent to 60 percent during the last few months, which have seen a number of areas receiving clean tap water during the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown period.

Harare Water acting director Phakamile Moyo said the aim of the Council is to make sure that residents get uninterrupted water supply twice a week.

“What we have been doing in the past few months especially in the Eastern suburbs we have fixed some one thousand diameter valves that has allowed us to control water going into the Eastern sector and cut off some areas that have been receiving water seven day a week and push water in areas like Mabvuku and Tafara among others.

“A number of pumps have been commissioned in a number of areas like Avondale and Emarald Hill.

“We have been able to pump more water into the Emerald Hill reservour something that we could not do in the past, we used to get water to a level of about 2,5 meters but now we are going to a level of about 4,5 metres meaning more water in that area,” he said.

Mr Moyo highlighted some of the leakages that residents are now experiencing in their areas have been a result of such areas not having water for a long period of time and when water started running thus only when Council realized the challenge and they are swiftly working on the burst pipes.

“The challenge we are having is that most areas did not have water for a long period of time, some had gone for 15 years or more and the pipes were dry but we are attending to those areas, especially Second Street extension and we hope that in the next three weeks we would have attended to much of these affected areas.”

He also encouraged residents to support the efforts of the City Council by paying their bills as the debt has gone up to about around ZWL$1 billion.