For fifteen years, raw sewage has flowed unchecked into the rivers that feed Harare's drinking water, a slow-motion catastrophe that Parliament can no longer ignore. Zimbabwe's legislative body, confronting a wastewater system where fewer than a third of treatment plants remain operational, has called on the President to declare a State of Emergency before the year's end. The crisis is not merely one of pipes and infrastructure — it is a constitutional failure, a breach of the promise that citizens deserve an environment that does not sicken them. What happens next will say much about whether
Parliament urges emergency declaration as Harare sewage crisis threatens water supply
The deteriorating sanitation infrastructure has been linked to recurring waterborne disease outbreaks, including a 2008-09 cholera outbreak that killed approximately 4,200 people and infected 98,000 others.
Raw sewage has flowed into the river feeding Harare's water for 15 years
Mark
So this report came out this week, but the committee finished it more than a year ago. Why the delay?
Mimi
The report was tabled in July 2025 and only released publicly this week. That gap itself tells you something about how slowly these things move through the system.
Luke
And we should note—the report identifies the problems clearly, but it's making a recommendation, not announcing a decision. The President hasn't declared a state of emergency yet.
Mark
What would that declaration actually do?
Mimi
It would theoretically create legal and financial space for emergency intervention—fast-track repairs, budget reallocation, that kind of thing. Right now the infrastructure is broken and the repairs are scheduled for 2027.
Luke
But the committee is asking for the declaration by the end of this year. We don't know if that will happen or what timeline would actually follow.
Mark
The numbers are staggering. Eighty megalitres a day into one river for fifteen years.
Mimi
And that's just one location. Across the country, 570 megalitres of raw sewage is being discharged daily from the plants that are still running. Only 20 of 63 treatment plants work at all.
Luke
The Firle plant is particularly striking—it's designed for 144 megalitres but only handling 54. So it's not just broken plants; it's that the working ones are severely under capacity.
Mark
Is there any sense of what caused this collapse?
Mimi
The report doesn't diagnose the root cause in detail. It documents the state of things and links it to disease outbreaks. The 2008-09 cholera outbreak killed 4,200 people.
Luke
That's a historical reference point, though. We should be careful not to assume that because cholera happened then, it's inevitable now. But the water quality data they cite—the oxygen levels, the BOD measurements—those are current and they're bad.
Mark
What happens if nothing changes before June 2027?
Mimi
Lake Chivero continues to receive polluted water. Waterborne diseases continue to circulate. The fish die, the water hyacinth spreads, and the city's water supply becomes increasingly compromised.
Luke
And that's assuming the June 2027 repair timeline holds. Infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe have a history of delays.
El Pulso
- Eighty megalitres of raw sewage pour into the Mukuvisi River every single day at Amalinda Crossing — and have done so for fifteen uninterrupted years.
- Harare's flagship treatment plant operates at less than half its designed capacity, while a second major facility sits entirely offline, leaving the capital's water supply dangerously exposed.
- Dissolved oxygen in affected waterways has fallen below safe thresholds, fish are dying, water hyacinth is spreading across Lake Chivero, and the spectre of cholera — which killed 4,200 people in 2008-09 — looms over every rainy season.
- Parliament's Portfolio Committee has declared the situation a violation of Zimbabwe's constitutional right to a healthy environment, lending legal and moral weight to the demand for urgent action.
- A State of Emergency declaration is being urged by December 2026, with infrastructure repairs projected to extend into June 2027 — a timeline that leaves millions of residents exposed in the interim.
For fifteen years, raw sewage has flowed unchecked into the rivers that feed Harare's drinking water, a slow-motion catastrophe that Parliament can no longer ignore. Zimbabwe's legislative body, confronting a wastewater system where fewer than a third of treatment plants remain operational, has called on the President to declare a State of Emergency before the year's end. The crisis is not merely one of pipes and infrastructure — it is a constitutional failure, a breach of the promise that citizens deserve an environment that does not sicken them. What happens next will say much about whether a nation can reckon honestly with a wound it has long chosen not to close.
Harare's water crisis has moved from quiet neglect to parliamentary alarm. A report released this week by the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife lays bare the scale of collapse: of Zimbabwe's 63 sewage treatment plants, only 20 remain operational, and those that do function are releasing an estimated 570 megalitres of untreated waste into the environment daily.
The most damaging breach sits at Amalinda Crossing, where broken trunk mains have been discharging roughly 80 megalitres of raw sewage into the Mukuvisi River every day for fifteen years. That river feeds Lake Chivero — Harare's primary source of drinking water. Repairs are not expected until June 2027. Elsewhere, the Budiriro Pump Station, offline since 2014, allows sewage to overflow into the Marimba River and back up into residential yards, exposing families to pathogens they have no means of avoiding.
The ecological damage is measurable. Dissolved oxygen in affected waterways sits at 51.2 percent, below the 60 percent threshold considered healthy. Organic pollution levels are roughly four times the safe limit. Fish are dying, and water hyacinth has taken hold across Lake Chivero. The human cost is older and grimmer still — the 2008-09 cholera outbreak, directly linked to deteriorating sanitation, killed approximately 4,200 people and infected 98,000 others. Waterborne disease has recurred ever since.
The committee concluded that the ongoing pollution violates Section 73 of Zimbabwe's Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to an environment that does not harm their health. Its recommendation is pointed: the President should declare a State of Emergency over the water and sanitation crisis by December 31, 2026, unlocking the authority and resources needed to act with urgency. Whether that call will be heeded — and whether it will come in time — remains an open question.
Harare's water crisis has moved beyond the abstract. Raw sewage is flowing into the rivers that feed Lake Chivero, the capital's primary source of drinking water, and a Parliamentary report released this week makes clear that the problem is not new, not small, and not close to being solved.
The Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife examined water pollution hotspots across Chitungwiza and Harare, completing its investigation in July 2025. What it found was a wastewater system in collapse. Of Zimbabwe's 63 sewage treatment plants, only 20 are operational. The ones that do function are discharging an estimated 570 megalitres of raw sewage into the environment every single day. In Harare itself, the flagship Firle Wastewater Treatment Plant—designed to handle 144 megalitres daily—is processing only 54. The Crowborough plant, another major facility, is not working at all.
The worst contamination point the committee identified sits at Amalinda Crossing, where broken trunk mains have been dumping approximately 80 megalitres of untreated sewage into the Mukuvisi River every day. This has been happening for 15 years. The Mukuvisi eventually flows into Lake Chivero. Repairs to these pipes are not expected to be finished until June 2027. Meanwhile, at Budiriro Pump Station—offline since 2014—raw sewage overflows into the Marimba River and backs up into people's yards, exposing residents to pathogens they cannot see and cannot avoid.
The committee traced a direct line between this infrastructure failure and disease. Zimbabwe experienced a cholera outbreak in 2008 and 2009 that killed approximately 4,200 people and infected 98,000 others. Waterborne illnesses—cholera, typhoid, dysentery—have recurred as the sewage system has deteriorated. The rivers themselves show the damage. Dissolved oxygen levels in the affected waterways measured 51.2 percent, below the healthy threshold of 60 percent. Biological Oxygen Demand, a measure of organic pollution, stood at 9.48 milligrams per liter, roughly four times what is considered safe. High phosphate levels have triggered fish die-offs and allowed water hyacinth to spread across Lake Chivero.
The committee's conclusion was unambiguous: the situation violates Section 73 of Zimbabwe's Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to an environment that does not harm their health or wellbeing. The continued pollution threatens public health, damages the natural environment, and jeopardizes the long-term viability of Harare's water supply. In response, the committee has called on the President to declare a State of Emergency over the water and sanitation crisis by December 31, 2026. Such a declaration would, in theory, unlock the resources and authority needed to move quickly on repairs and protect both communities and the water sources they depend on. Whether that call will be answered remains to be seen.
Citas Notables
The situation was inconsistent with Section 73 of the Constitution, which provides for the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or wellbeing— Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife
The committee called for the President to declare a State of Emergency over the water and sanitation crisis by 31 December 2026— Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en NewZimbabwe.com ↗