Whither Dar water problems

EUGENIA MADHIDHA (Msasanuri)

Water is life, goes an old adage, as it constitutes more than 75 percent of the human body and is used for various vital purposes and ways to save flora and fauna. But, the same life-giving precious liquid can turn lethal as it tends to keep dangerous organisms not only harmful to humans but to life in general.

This has led to humanity battling water borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery for a long period and though they found the answer to the problem - clean water - it is unfortunate that provision of it to every citizen has just but remained a pipe dream for many societies.

It is against this background that the problem has been causing headaches within governments and societies world over as they face many challenges such as shortage of water treating chemicals, equipment, vandalism and theft, in their bid to provide the rare liquid.

Tanzania like any other Third World country has not been spared as the problem has been prevailing for many years now. And, as if it was not enough, efforts by the government to provide wananchi with clean water have been watered down by acts of vandalism and thefts of water equipment such as pipes and valves, especially by scrap metal traders.

In Dar es Salaam, the Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Authority (DAWASA) and Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Corporation (DAWASCO), have been suffering vandalism and theft for a longtime despite steps to counter the stealing of pipes and other water equipment affecting the water supply network in the city.

According to DAWASA, more than 360 pieces worth some 700m/- have been stolen since 2006. The pieces include valves, fire hydrants, flanges, coupling, water meters, pipe joints and steel cover and are still working on recovering them.

“Thieves of water and sanitary system parts live among us and sometimes some of us see them in action. We, DAWASA and DAWASCO, call upon you to report to us such thefts for members of the society are victimized. We will treat all SMS information as secret and will deal with such information without delay and legal steps will be taken against suspected thieves,” the organization said in a statement recently.

These problems have been denying wananchi access to clean water in Dar es Salaam to an extent that some of the residents have been forced to fetch water from unprotected shallow wells, something that posses a great danger to their health.

Water supply, because of vandalism and thefts has been erratic in most suburbs in the city causing untold suffering among residents who are forced to buy the water exorbitantly from hawkers who eke a living out of the desperate residents. Most Dar residents buy water from street vendors every day, paying 250/- to 300/- equivalent to 18 to 22 US cents for a 20-litre container. These prices, however, are many are times hiked to 500/- per container as vendors take advantage of the scarcity.

This provides a source of income for some unemployed city youths. A survey conducted by this paper revealed that water vendors can earn between 10 000/- to 15 000/- per day, depending on demand.

This quest for making quick buck has seen many people engaging in uncouth activities such as stealing of water equipment or illegal connections to the water supply network. DAWASCO has been for a long-time discovered many illegal connections that they disconnected, by-passing official connections to avoid paying for the water used.

Last week, three people were arrested in Sinza, Dar es Salaam for allegedly tampering with DAWASCO infrastructure. The company’s chief commercial officer, Raymond Mndolwa said that the suspects drilled into big eight inch water pipe and allegedly connected their pipes that enabled them to access water and started selling it to customers including big water vehicles.

“We have followed it up and discovered that a fleet of about 50 vehicles come here to fetch water and sell it in various parts of the city, which amounts to sabotage. The sabotaged pipe is the one that supplies water to the entire Sinza area,” remarked Mndolwa.

Six water pumps were confiscated in the operation at three houses in the area. Such acts of sabotage are counter productive as they thwart efforts by the government to provide clean water to wananchi as greedy citizens take advantage and make it an opportunity to rack millions of dollars.

Though the announced DAWASA water supply improvement plan of developing two underground aquifers in two phases comes as good news for residents who have been grappling to get clean water, there is need to make sure that the equipment is guarded to reduce vandalism and thefts.

The first phase, expected to begin this September, 20 deep wells will be drilled, producing 260 000 cubic metres a day. And, in March 2010, construction will begin on the expansion of Lower Ruvu treatment plant to increase output to 170 00 cubic metres of water per day. The Upper Ruvu is also penciled for expansion from 80 000 to 140 000 cubic metres per day.

This comes as sweet music to Dar residents but with the global economic crisis continuing to bite, the difference will remain the same if everyone does not play his or her role to safeguard water supply equipment. Failure to do so, Dar es Salaam will remain a thirsty city.