Story by Memory Chamisa
Massive pollution has resulted in the suspension of fishing activities at Lake Chivero, one of the country’s seven Ramsar-protected sites, amid revelations that over a thousand dead fish were washed ashore.
The development has sparked concerns about the safety and sustainability of the lake’s aquatic resources, which have turned into a death trap for both animals and humans due to alarming levels of pollution.
The past week has seen a surge in toxic algae blooms, resulting in the death of several animals, including four rhinos, three zebras, four wildebeests and four fish eagles.
The situation has raised concerns among residents with the Harare Residents Association Trust calling on the city council to take urgent action.
“The situation at Lake Chivero is not to be taken lightly. The city council needs to tell us what is going especially on water. We all know that Harare catchment area depends on the lake for its water and for us to see the pictures doing rounds on social media of dead fish and animals is alarming. Are we safe from the contamination that has taken place and what are they doing to ensure that we’re safe?” said Harare Residents Trust chairperson, Mr Precious Shumba.
Director of the Combined Harare Residents Association, Reuben Akili weighed in, “This issue of water contamination at lake Chivero has been going on for a long time and the city fathers have been given leeway for a long time. Now it’s time for the Gove and relevant authorities including bodies like EMA to intervene and fix this once and for all. A state of emergency or disaster has to be called because if fish and animals are dying, what of us humans?”
Mr Goodlife Mudzingwa, programme manager with Community Water Alliance also said, “Our sewer plants have a design capacity of 80 megalitres, but we have about 200 megalitres of sewer being channelled through. We need to expand our plants to accommodate this excess which we now see being dumped in the lake causing animals to die and health risk to the residents.”
Harare Mayor Councilor Jacob Mafume has, somehow, assured residents the water is safe for use, adding that investigations are underway to determine the cause of wildlife deaths.
“The pollution challenges facing this lake require a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society approach, therefore we urge the public and relevant authorities to understand the effects of pollution and to join us in advocating for better environmental practices to protect our biodiversity. However, I can say the water is safe for use as it is treated before it is put out to the residents. Every body of water that is untreated is unsafe so we always treat our water in line with World Health Organisation standards. Every year during this period, we get fish that die as a result of lack of oxygen caused by the algae. The situation is being exacerbated by the heat, but once the rains come, the situation will get better. However, what happened with the animals needs to be further investigated for us to understand what is happening.”
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo has since announced the closure of the lake to members of the public.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that sewage runoff from the Marimba area has forced contaminated water into multiple bays, creating hazardous conditions for aquatic life. High pollution results in a boom in algae growth, which increases oxygen demand on the water body resulting in high mortality for the fish. As wind patterns continue to shift, we anticipate that this issue may further impact fish populations across the lake. Hence, we have closed Lake Chivero to the public as we carry out investigations,” he said.
This is not the first time Lake Chivero has faced pollution challenges.
Studies have shown that the lake has been experiencing eutrophication since the 1960s, with high levels of nutrient pollution leading to toxic algae blooms.
The situation has been exacerbated by the growth of Harare’s population and a corresponding increase in sewage effluent.
