Tanzania Dries Up: Water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Taps in Tanzanian household are hissing out air. And the country being hot at the moment the gas coming out of water taps in warm.

Residents in major urban centers of Arusha, Mwanza, Tanga, Morogoro and Dar-es-salaam have been going without clean water for weeks.

The Government blames drought, a weather calamity which is also being credited with ongoing Nationwide power rationing affecting the country.

During the recently held clean energy conference in Dar-es-salaam, President Samia Suluhu cautioned against the alarming rate of deforestation especially among residents of coastal areas including the city.

Tanzania is home to the world’s second deepest freshwater body, the Lake Tanganyika.

Water everywhere …

The country also shares Africa’s largest water body, Lake Victoria with Kenya and Uganda, as well as Lake Nyasa, with Malawi and thousands of rivers within its borders.

Tanzania enjoys two seasons of rainfall, the monsoon in March, April and May, as well as short rains at the end of the year.

Experts say the country is capable of harvest an average of 500,000 cubic liters of water per each season.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that Tanzania has extensive water resources, adding that in 2008 the country had 96.27 cubic kilometers of renewable water resources.

Yet for many years, the country’s water ministry has failed to translate the abundant natural water resources into reliable domestic water supply service.

…but hardly a drop to drink

With water around them yet not a single drop to come of their taps, the residents of Tanzania are compelled to be ancient mariners.

“When you drill the ground, anywhere in Tanzania, water will surely gush out,” says Gabriel Mwangomo a water expert based in Arusha.

Arusha city boasts a 500 billion/- worth of city water supply project but so far, the investment remains a fairy tale as the urban center suffer serious shortage.

More...