Chitipa water plant safe from siltation: NRWB supplies potable water to villages
Villages in Chitipa are for the first time enjoying uninterrupted water supply of potable water thanks to the completion of a US$13 million (about K7.5 billion) water project in the district by Northern Region Water Board (NRWB).
The NRWB’s project included construction of a water intake weir on Kalenge River, treatment and storage tanks connected by pipes stretching to a distance of 40 kilometres at the Boma.
Communities around the water treatment plant in Kalenge and residents around Chitipa Boma are already enjoying the water supply as they await official launch this year.
The water board has already planted 40 water kiosks to serve communities that cannot afford to connect water to their respective houses. Ten kiosks are around Chitipa Boma while 30 are in villages surrounding the water treatment plant.
Chairperson of Tukolelane Water Kiosk at Lufita in the area of Traditional Authority Mwaulambia, Janet Dandaula Gama, said the convenient and uninterrupted water supply has helped save marriages from breakup.
“In the past we used to walk about five kilometres to fetch water from Mwenekaseye River. Besides being health hazard, our husbands could beat us for arriving late from the river,” Gama said.
“We are very grateful to water board for bringing this water close to our homes,” she added.
Chitipa Water Supply Project Coordinator Engineer Khumbo Mwafulirwa said the new water system has enough capacity relative to water demand in Chitipa.
“What we are doing is that we are running the system for six hours to supply water for 24 hours. So even when there is no electricity supply, people will still have uninterrupted water supply,” he said.
NRWB’s Public Relation Officer Edward Nyirenda said the US$13 million dollars has been invested in the project to ensure that Chitipa has a sustainable water supply system.
As corporate social responsibility, the board will also sink boreholes in Naching’anda area which is the source of Kalenge River.
“We will sink four boreholes in the area because people around the river source will not benefit from the new water system,” Nyirenda said.
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