Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) has installed solar water pumping system in Chikwava to improve access to potable water in the district.
SRWB Ngabu zone coordinator Emmanuel Chirwa said the project is aimed at developing and managing sustainable water supply to customers.
The system, valued at K59 million, comprises solar panels and two boreholes.
It generates power for nine hours a day and pumps a minimum of 15 liters of water per second.
“The system has reduced dry taps due to electricity blackouts that affected our pumping system’ said Chirwa.
One of the beneficiaries, Eneti Palithu from Traditional (T/A) Kasisi in the district/ said during dry taps, communities had to walk long distances to draw water for domestic use and others were drinking untreated water from the Shire River.
“Water from other sources exposed us to waterborne diseases, but since the installation of this solar pumping system, all the water woes are history,” she said.