A threatened lifeline: Harare’s fight to save Lake Chivero
For residents of Harare, Lake Chivero is more than a body of water on a map. It is the city’s primary source of drinking water, a place where families once picnicked, where anglers made a living and where the surrounding wetlands buffered floods. Today, people who live along the Upper Manyame Catchment speak of algae-streaked shores, foul odours after rains and an uneasy sense that a vital lifeline is slipping away.
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At the launch this month of the Save Lake Chivero Campaign, community leaders and neighbourhood groups warned that unchecked industrial discharges, a tangle of weak laws and poor enforcement are steadily degrading rivers, dams and lakes that supply Harare’s taps. “Communities must be empowered to play an active role in monitoring pollution and holding offenders to account,” said Marvellous Kumalo, chairperson of the Harare Metropolitan Residents Forum (HAMREF), summing up the campaign’s central demand.
What the campaign plans to do
The new initiative promises a multipronged approach: mobilising neighbourhoods across the Upper Manyame Catchment, bringing legal action against persistent polluters, and pressing for reforms to water governance so that responsibility and penalties are clearer and enforcement can be meaningful. Activists say their aim is not just to protest but to build civic capacity — training volunteers to monitor discharges, document violations and create a publicly accessible record of pollution sources.
“Litigation is part of the toolbox,” a campaign spokesperson told this reporter. “But we also want to see local people given the authority to act when they witness pollution. That means stronger, simpler laws and transparent enforcement.”
On-the-ground realities
Traveling the dirt roads that feed into the Upper Manyame shows why urgency has risen. Small-scale farmers, informal settlements and factories all share narrow river corridors. When rains come, untreated sewage and industrial effluent surge into tributaries and head toward the reservoir. Over time the accumulation of nutrients and chemical contaminants has altered water quality and strained treatment facilities.
Residents in adjacent communities describe fewer fish, more frequent algal scums and a growing fear that the water their children drink is compromised. Local business owners who once relied on recreation and tourism around the lake say visitors have dwindled. The cumulative effect is economic and social: livelihoods are threatened and public confidence in the water supply is wobbling.
Why the law is part of the problem
Campaign organisers point to fragmented legislation that leaves gaps between municipal bylaws, environmental statutes and national water policy. When rules overlap or are poorly aligned, enforcement agencies often point to each other while violations continue. The situation is compounded by constrained budgets and capacity in regulatory bodies, making regular inspections and follow-through difficult.
Environmentalists argue that the international trend toward decentralising environmental oversight can work — if local communities are resourced to monitor and report — but that piecemeal laws without teeth are insufficient. “Strong laws without enforcement are theatre,” one senior environmental advocate said. “Enforcement without community buy-in is unsustainable.”
What this means for Harare — and cities worldwide
Harare’s crisis is not unique. Rapid urbanisation, aging infrastructure and industrial expansion have put similar pressures on urban water bodies across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Where governance falters, public health and local economies pay the price. Climate change adds another layer of risk: erratic rainfall and longer dry spells amplify the consequences of pollution by concentrating contaminants and increasing the cost of treatment.
Communities in Harare are trying a now-familiar playbook: civic mobilisation, data gathering and legal pressure. Around the world, citizens’ lawsuits and community monitoring have forced governments and companies to clean up rivers and lakes, from rivers in Europe to reservoirs in South America. But success often depends on whether national systems will back community efforts with clear legal frameworks and the capacity to enforce them.
Questions the campaign raises
- Will the government respond by harmonising laws and strengthening enforcement at the catchment level?
- Can community monitoring be sustained over years, not just months, and be translated into legal action when needed?
- How will authorities balance the economic role of industry with the public’s right to clean water — and who pays for necessary upgrades to wastewater treatment?
These are not abstract queries. They strike at the heart of how rapidly growing cities manage common resources in an era of constrained public budgets and competing development priorities.
A civic moment
The Save Lake Chivero Campaign shows how local people can translate anxiety about pollution into organised pressure for change. Their pledge to litigate against offenders underlines a belief that courts can be a venue for environmental accountability. But success will likely require partnerships: with scientists to document pollution trends, with independent laboratories to verify contamination, and with regional and international organisations that can offer technical support and visibility.
For now the campaign is an act of civic faith — an assertion that citizens of Harare will not passively accept the slow decline of a resource that sustains them. As they prepare to mobilise across the catchment, they ask a question with universal resonance: who gets to decide the fate of a city’s water?
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
