Water firm traces contaminated borehole in Lusaka 

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:51:51 +0000

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

 THE Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company has identified one contaminated private borehole which has since been decommissioned following the cholera outbreak in Lusaka.

LWSC public relations manager Patson Phiri said a privately owned borehole was identified as the source of the contaminated water that could be the cause of the cholera in Chipata- Mazyopa areas in the capital city.

Mr Phiri said the area in question was mostly serviced by several privately owned boreholes, including a few managed by the water utility firm.

He said the company sent engineers to the compounds reported to have cholera to test all the boreholes to check the underground water for possible contamination, which reports have been circulated to the authorities, including the Lusaka City Council (LCC) and other stakeholders.

“None of our boreholes has been linked to the contamination that could result in the cholera outbreak in Lusaka, our boreholes are clean.

“Following the tests done at the boreholes in the area, we have identified one borehole where people have been buying water that was contaminated, and the (Lusaka City) Council has decommissioned and closed it down,” Mr Phiri said.

He explained that as a utility, the LWSC did not have the mandate to decommission private boreholes found to be contaminated, and so they communicated the results of the tests carried out to the local authority to take the necessary action.

He said LWSC has a 24-hour surveillance system that detects any levels of contamination in the water even before the water reaches the consumers.