Lake Chivero crisis deepens as residents take petition to Parliament

Residents petition Parliament over worsening Lake Chivero pollution, urging urgent action to stop sewage flows, enforce environmental laws and restore water quality (image source)

A recent scientific review warns that Lake Chivero’s contamination poses serious health and ecological risks, noting chemical and biological hazards that have already prompted a fishing ban after mass fish deaths and wildlife impacts last year. Local reporting and investigations link the deterioration to years of untreated sewage and industrial waste entering the lake and its feeder rivers, a pattern critics say reflects institutional failure and regulatory gaps. Environmental commentators describe the lake’s decline as an ecological disaster that threatens Greater Harare’s water security and biodiversity, and they say visible signs—foul odours, algal blooms and dead fish—have become commonplace around the reservoir.

In response, a coalition of residents, ratepayers and civic groups led by the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) tabled a petition in Parliament demanding immediate remedial action and stronger enforcement of the Environmental Management Act; petitioners singled out raw sewage from Harare, Chitungwiza and Epworth and alleged industrial discharges into municipal sewers as primary drivers of pollution. Residents who signed the petition told reporters they fear for their families’ health and livelihoods, and some urged the President to declare the situation a national emergency to unlock resources for repairs and clean-up. The petitioners argue that municipal incapacity to maintain sewer infrastructure has allowed trunk-line collapses and illegal discharges to persist unchecked.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has escalated enforcement: the agency has taken legal action against Harare City Council (HCC), accusing the municipality of failing to repair a “deplorable water reticulation system” and of repeatedly allowing raw sewage into waterways—a move that underlines the regulatory breakdown petitioners cite. EMA officials say they have issued multiple environmental protection orders and fines to the city and have now sought High Court intervention to compel repairs and compliance; the agency’s public statements emphasise that enforcement alone cannot substitute for urgent infrastructure investment and coordinated governance. “Unchecked pollution at Lake Chivero is undermining our national development priorities and the health of current and future generations.” Resident coalition statement, as presented in the petition.

Parliamentary procedure allows petitions to be referred to relevant portfolio committees for inquiry and recommendations; petitioners are urging the National Assembly to fast-track hearings, summon municipal and national agencies, and recommend emergency funding and a clear timetable for sewer rehabilitation and industrial compliance monitoring.

Environmental experts and public-health practitioners told petitioners and lawmakers that practical steps must include immediate repairs to collapsed sewer trunk lines, mandatory effluent treatment for industries, transparent monitoring of discharge permits, and a public-facing remediation plan with measurable milestones—actions EMA says fall within its mandate but require political will and budgetary support to implement effectively. Parliament will now decide whether to convert the petition into a formal inquiry; residents say they will maintain pressure until they see concrete action to stop sewage flows, restore water quality and protect the city’s primary water source.