Characterising water stress as an issue of the urban agenda in Africa: The case of selected Zimbabwe cities

International Conference on Sustainable Civil Engineering

June 20-21, 2016 Cape Town, South Africa

Innocent Chirisa

University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Civil Environ Eng

Abstract :

Many cities in Africa, perhaps as elsewhere, are facing serious water shortages due to both natural and human reasons. Naturally, these are vulnerable to climate change-induced effects of drought inflicting dryness hitherto unknown if not inexperienced. Supplying water bodies, particularly dams and lacks end up with diminished water resources to adequately meet the demand of the growing urban populations throughout the year. The human dimension to the water stress is one explained by increasing urbanisation which tends to lead to a compromise in the quality and quantity of water especially for drinking. Because huge-size informal settlements are emerging in so many edges of the African city where the water supply network is weak, many in terms of population end up relying on underground water resources by drilling boreholes or digging deep wells. The present study is an attempt to characterize water stress as a practical issue gaining currency in African cities by using selected Zimbabwean cities of Harare, Bulawayo and Ruwa as examples. It is a case study of Zimbabwean cities informed by a robust interrogation of existing literature and practices elsewhere. The major question is on how to keep the groundwater replenished by not allowing it to escape the basin unnecessarily given the closed nature of localized water basins. Furthermore, the paper also questions the sustainability and equitability of the notion of water rationing as practiced in some cities in the country like Bulawayo and Ruwa. Largely, the paper argues that with sound practices of urban water management based on adequate knowledge of the dynamics and interplay of population, water engineering technology of purification and decentralized control, and economic sanctions it is possible to finding lasting solutions to water augmentation.

Biography :

Email: chirisa.innocent@gmail.com