DDF repairs boreholes

Manicaland Correspondent

THE District Development Fund has started rehabilitating boreholes in Chimanimani and Chipinge, which were affected by Cyclone Idai.

Last week, toured various roads, bridges and boreholes which they were assigned under the Cyclone Idai reconstruction project.

Speaking during the tour, provincial hyro-geologist Mr Innocent Manyonga said efforts were underway to ensure that all communities had access to safe water as soon as possible.

“Our first response was to identify the water sources which were affected by the cyclone,” he said. “Most of the boreholes had been flooded with dirty water that was accompanied with mud, silt and faecal matter. So, there is need to flush the boreholes to enhance the quality and quantity of water.”

Mr Manyonga said three boreholes had so far been flushed and repaired out of the 22 they were working on, adding that by June 12, all the boreholes should be restored.

Mr Manyonga said flushing of boreholes is a process that involves the cleaning of any extraneous material inside that may contain contaminants.

“After flashing the borehole, we will replace worn out pipes be it cylinders and other pipes with new ones. We will also rehabilitate the sanitary sill so that the water from the borehole is not contaminated at any point,” he said.

“We have deployed three rigs to do the flushing and other work related to the cyclone disaster and another rig is waiting to be deployed to Chimanimani for the same work.”