Water project in Luangwa progressing well

Luangwa District Commissioner (DC) Eunie Mumba has expressed happiness at the pace at which the construction of the multibillion water tank project in Luangwa district is moving.

Mr. Mumba said the new water tank, which is being constructed at a cost of over KR 10 million, was expected to be commissioned by the end of July this year and will benefit over 6,000 people in the district.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Luangwa that the people of Luangwa have in the past been subjected to drawing water from the Luangwa River which is highly infested with crocodiles.

And Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) Public Relations Officer Topsy Sikalinda has disclosed that the new treatment plant has the capacity of treating about 2,400 cubic meters of water per day.

Mr. Sikalinda said the new water treatment plant will replace the old dilapidated one which is more than 20 years old has a lot of leakages.

He added that the tank was also expected to meet the water supply demand of the district up to the year 2035 while the current one has very low production quantities of only 430 cubic meters per day.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sikalinda explained that in the past, the company’s capacity to provide a reliable service to the people of Lusaka province has been impacted negatively by lack of adequate investment in infrastructure, renewal and expansion.

He disclosed that over 60 per cent of the company’s infrastructure was above 30 years, a situation he said has greatly contributed to many leakages and bursts.

Mr. Sikalinda said another major challenge his company was facing was that the water demand in the city was at 370 million litres per day against the production capacity of 258 million litres per day.