Zambians to pay for borehole water use

FACED with longer droughts and growing water demand, the Zambian government has introduced fees for groundwater use.

Under an executive order effective since March, domestic borehole owners must for the first time pay a oneoff fee of 250 kwacha (R308) to have their wells licensed.

There will be no monthly or annual fees for domestic water users, but those who consume more than 10 kilolitres a day will be charged a commercial fee of 5 kwacha (R6) for each additional 30m³ they extract, according to the state-run Water Resource Management Authority.

The authority’s legal counsellor, Emmanuel Mumba, said the utility had long been concerned about how groundwater and surface water were managed.

Prolonged droughts linked to climate change had made it worse.

Population growth and growing water use by farming and industry were also putting pressure on the country’s dwindling water resources.

“We are going to monitor groundwater use now, because [if] it is not managed well, we will run out of it,” Mumba said. The utility said 60% to 70% of water consumed in Zambia came from groundwater.

Inspectors will instal devices to measure water consumption and pollution levels in each borehole.

Wells found to be leaking would be decommissioned, Mumba said.

The agency has already set up observation boreholes to judge how much groundwater levels are decreasing and to measure water contamination in parts of Lusaka.

The Zambian government has put water management on the agenda in its seventh national development plan, for 2017-21.

Energy and Water Development Ministry permanent secretary Ed Chomba said the borehole charges would cover administrative costs and help regulate water use.

But an international charity working on water issues in Zambia said more needed to be done to regulate consumption and reduce pollution.

Pamela Chisanga, of WaterAid Zambia, said contamination of water was as big a problem as the lack of it in parts of Zambia. – Reuters