Residents of Riverside Kitwe and the surrounding communities have expressed fear for their health following the presence of suspended foreign particles they have detected in tap water being supplied by Nkana Water and Sewerage Company in the last two weeks.The affected residents complained that they had been noticing black particles suspended in tap water being supplied by NWSC. They said the foreign particles were very visible in the water with the naked eye.
Meanwhile Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE), a Copperbelt-based environmental watchdog,also received complaints from a Kalulushi resident that the water supplied to the area by Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) is polluted.CBE executive director Peter Sinkamba said that his organisation in conjunction with the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Mines in the past collected water samples from Mwambashi River and laboratory tests revealed a high presence of heavy metals.
“We have in the past collected water samples in conjunction with the University of Zambia School of Mines and the current vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Simukanga led the team when he was under that faculty.
“The investigations revealed a presence of heavy metals in Mwambashi stream as compared with other streams which discharge water into it like the Mutimpa stream from the Konkola Copper Mines tailings dam in Chingola,” Mr Sinkamba said.
He said more investigations should be carried out to establish whether the pollution was caused by mining companies or it is a natural occurrence.
Mr Sinkamba also said a Kalulushi resident complained that the water supplied to the area by NWSC is bad and it makes residents sick.
He urged water utilities to upscale their water treatment capabilities.
“The issue of just using aluminium sulphate to settle suspended solids is not good enough. When water utilities treat water, they must ensure that the quality of water they provide to the community satisfies the requirements of the Zambia Bureau of Standards,” Mr Sinkamba said.
But company public relations manager Damaseke Chibale said he was not aware of the presence of foreign particles in water being supplied to Riverside residential area.
Mr Chibale said as far as he was concerned, the utility was supplying Riverside residential areas with quality and treated water which was to the standard of the World Health Organisation and the Zambia Bureau of Standards.
“The water being supplied to Riverside is from our Bulangililo Treatment Plant, which is one of the modern plants,” Mr Chibale said.
He, however, said investigations would be conducted to ascertain whether the suspended particles were a result of underground pipe leaks, which could not easily be detected.
Mr. Damaseke Chibale said the utility company has suspended pumping of raw water from Mwambashi River in Kalulushi and Mwambashi water treatment plant in Garneton in Kitwe to safeguard and protect the health and well-being of the people.
“It is in this regard that through our daily laboratory analyses of raw water samples from Mwambashi stream in Kalulushi and Garneton in Kitwe, it has come to our attention that the levels of total hardness and sulphates in the raw water at Mwambashi raw water intake in Kalulushi and Mwambashi water treatment plant in Garneton in Kitwe has risen above the Zambia Bureau of Standards’ allowable maximum levels,” Mr Chibale said.
Mr Chibale said everything is being done to ensure that the situation normalises as soon as possible.
[Daily mail,Times]
In Zambia everything is now acceptable because leaders dont care. My mother lives in Chimwemwe, tap water there is brown in colour the whole year round and residents are tired of complaining. When i visit her, i always live bottled water…When iask her all she says like everyone else is that ..tusungwa na LESA
If the University of Zambia have done analysis….can they tell us what this stuff in the water is?
If you have eliminated Muntimpa stream I am sure you can trace the source of this stuff. Do the proper investigations before alarming us.
I live in Riverside in Kitwe but my water is clean.
Ala mwe bantu mu mu menshi muli amafi.
@zambian,
please check again.
Zambia holds 40% of the total water bodies in the SADCC region but we have lamentably failed to manage this God given resource the same way we have failed on all other things
whats wrong with our attitude? we do things for ourselves like we are doing someone else a favour…….this is our country and nobody owes us development other than ourselves…. when will this toxic inertia going to end?
If some people need to be wiped to work, so be it!!
what even beats common sense is that during the time of zccm the water was not only available 24/7 it was also clean and free.
Now when people are paying for the commodity, its not only dirty with visible foreign particles, but scarce sometimes for days without a drop off the taps
how ironical
The water in Riverside Kitwe is very dirty and it has been like that for the past two or three weeks.
Infact from yesterday from 8:00 hours there is no water in Riverside.
In Chingola they are giving very dirt water (slurry) and are busy disconnecting for non-payment of bills.
Ndola and Kanini in particular has very bad water at the moment, it smells and has particles,my maid and sister are sick because of that, am thinking of suing Kafubu water once I have had the water tested
There is no water as we speak/chat right now. No water since yesterday morning. You would be lucky to even have that water with the so-called particles!! Nkana Water is playing games, tukamiponona ba fikamba, atase.
It’s better to live in a village than Kitwe because you have a choice of water sources there
Amashetebles in h2o futi!
Mu menshi muli amafi.
Kalulushi and Garnaton raw water sources (mwambishi stream) has been heavily polluted by KCM, NFCA and Chambishi Metals. Kalulushi been feed from Kitwe. Nkani yaku riverside, ummmmmm