Sustainability of Chiredzi town water supply and wastewater management in Zimbabwe

Urban water supply and sewage coverage in Zimbabwe is currently estimated at 78 and 73%, respectively with unserved population relying on boreholes and pit latrines. However, no study has been conducted to assess how small towns, such as Chiredzi, are sustaining their systems despite limited funding from the Government. A study was carried out to assess the sustainability of Chiredzi town water supply and wastewater management systems in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. The study assessed the level of service provision, level of users’ participation and sustainability of water supply and wastewater systems. Data was collected through household questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, desk study, water and wastewater analysis results, and field observations. A total of 150 households were interviewed and Statistical Package for Social Science, Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, and De Carvalho Sustainability index were used as tools to analyse data. The service coverage was below the target of 100 and 80% for water supply and sewage coverage, respectively. The study revealed that 55.3% of the respondents were not satisfied with the level of services provided. Stakeholder participation was found to be done through contribution of ideas and reporting pipe burst with very few contributing money. The overall sustainability was found to be 6.5, a category of satisfactory progress towards sustainability. Finally, the findings showed that there is great need to improve on technical, social and financial aspect.   Key words: Level of service provision, stakeholders participation, sustainability index, water supply, wastewater management.