You need a Zinwa permit to drill borehole: Govt

Zim Now Writer

Drilling a borehole requires a permit from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, government has said.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka said this after some residents in Bulawayo were protesting against the Upper Gwayi Sub Catchment for enforcing the payment of levies for the use of underground water.

Dr Masuka said groundwater use is governed by the Water Act and that the Sub-Catchment Council is responsible for accessing and allocating water efficiently.

He said individuals must obtain drilling permits and ensure compliance with the law. In a statement, Dr Masuka said:

“The Ministry has noted the recent increase in the number of individuals and organisations drilling boreholes without the relevant permits in the country; with some of these boreholes being drilled within metres of one another.

“In this regard, any individual or organisation intending to drill a borehole should apply for and obtain a drilling permit from their respective Catchment Council This allows Government to know the number and location of the boreholes, so as to avoid over abstraction of the groundwater resource. The driller is required, by law, to provide the technical details on the drilling of such a borehole (i.e. the construction, the pumping tests and water yield and any other parameters). It is also a legal requirement that a holder of a groundwater permit keeps records of the water abstracted in terms of the permit and have such water analysed for physical, chemical and biological and other bacteriological constituents and to ensure that the water is safe and clean for human consumption,” he said.

Dr Masuka also said individuals, institutions and organisations who may have drilled boreholes without the requisite documentation are, therefore, advised to approach Zinwa or their respective Catchment Councils to regularise their water use.