Australian Aid funded project in Binga uses the power of gravity and the sun for clean water provision
By Nora de Roon Hertoge, Research and Public Affairs Officer
In July I visited the Lubu Clean Water Solar Powered Scheme, along with Daniel Kark, Second Secretary Development Cooperation, as part of a delegation of donors seeing the results of funding for WASH programs in Binga district. 
Lubu spring had been the source of water for the local Tonga community for years, serving an average of 200 families with clean water. However, the spring was located at the bottom of the Zambezi Escarpment, while most of its users were living on top.
Before implementation of the project water was collected by women and girls, straight from the well, one bucket at the time, manoeuvring down and up a steep and rocky hillside of almost a 10 percent incline. Although the distance to the water source for most was less than 2 kilometres, the arduous journey proved to take up a considerable part of their day and was not without risk of getting injured.
A small scale pilot project was implemented at the site by CAFOD and Caritas Hwange under the Protracted Relief Programme with funding from the Australian Government. The project had been completed in 2012 and had been running successfully for almost two years at the time of the visit.
A spring box was constructed around the spring to protect the well from direct pollution. From there, the water was gravity fed into a sump tank, situated below the level of the source and next to a community garden. An overflow pipe on the sump tank provided the community garden pond with water at night.
A solar powered pump, pumps the water up the hill into a 40.000 litres storage tank on top of the escarpment. The tank is fitted with communal taps and washing line.
It was good to see the local community is still benefitting from this relatively simple project today. The solar powered pump had been working well since installation and apart from regular (low-cost) maintenance does not require any input. The pump committee and community garden committee make sure the collective asset is being looked after.
Australia’s funding for safe access to water through the PRP program is only one part of a much larger water and sanitation program in Zimbabwe, delivered with development partners including UNICEF Zimbabwe, GIZ and the African Development Bank. This support is replacing the pipes and restoring the water and sewerage treatment plants that deliver water and sanitation services in towns across Zimbabwe, including Harare and Bulawayo. For more information on the Australian aid program in Zimbabwe, visit the development webpage.