City installs plastic pipes

THE Harare City Council has begun installing plastic pipes across the city to improve the distribution of water around the city.

The city’s corporate communications manager, Mr Michael Chideme, said council had embarked on the programme because some of the water problems that were being experienced in the city were due to old and rusty pipes that were constantly bursting.

“We want to make sure that all households receive clean and safe water. The pipes that were in use before were rusty and were affecting the delivery of clean water, this initiative is meant to ensure availability of water round the clock,” he said.

Mr Chideme said non-revenue pipes were durable and would reduce the need for council to replace pipes regularly.

“Our mission is to provide a world class water system and the replacement of these pipes is one of the steps we are taking towards achieving this as a council.

“The old pipes were made of iron and were susceptible to rust, but the new pipes are made of plastic so we will not have that problem,” he said.

“Non-revenue pipes do not burst as easily, therefore, their usage will reduce the number of times the council has to renew pipes, they can last for up to 15-20 years, and this will also reduce the amount of water wasted when pipes burst,” he said.

The council has already begun renewing the pipes along Nelson Mandela Avenue and all around the city.

“The replacement process is ongoing and we are going to make sure that by the time we are done, every place, including low and high density suburbs will have new pipes that are delivering clean and safe water,” Mr Chideme said.