The water supply situation in Beit Bridge town has now greatly improved, after engineers from the local water utility, Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), had repaired the water treatment pump which had been submerged in water after the recent floods.

The town was without water for five days last week until normal service was restored on Friday.

The water treatment plant, which is located near the Limpopo River, was submerged last Monday, resulting in back-up generators' also being submerged and, in the process, affecting the electrical systems. Local residents had to resort to using water from 33 boreholes, which were drilled at various strategic points in the border town at the height of the cholera outbreak in 2008.

An official from ZINWA, Mr Tommy Rosen, said it had taken them four days to address the situation at the treatment plant. “We had to drain the water from the treatment pump and re-assemble the machines before restoring services,” he said.

Beit Bridge Town Secretary Dr Sipho Singo had earlier on in the week indicated that the town would go for some time without water.  The town needs at least 15 000 m3 of water per day, although the local authority is able to supply only a third of the daily requirement. The border town has 4 000 houses and is home to more than 40 000 people, and thousands of travellers pass through every day. The floods have also affected construction work on the new treatment pump.

Singo said the floods had also left a trail of destruction on the water and sewer reticulation systems. He said four points had been damaged on the main sewer line, adding that they had since repaired three points. He said the bus terminus and several link roads had also been damaged extensively, though the engineering department had started working on them.

“As council, we are doing everything necessary to avoid the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera,” said Singo.He said the ongoing World Bank-funded US$2.65 million emergency water supply and sanitation programme was near completion. “The massive project, which was launched in March 2011, is mainly aimed at rehabilitating the existing water and sewerage infrastructure in the border town."