Zimbabwe is facing a quiet public health crisis. A report from Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife, presented at the end of September 2026, found that only 20 of the country’s 63 sewage treatment plants still work. Every day, about 570 megalitres of raw or barely treated sewage flow into the country’s rivers. Lawmakers want the president to declare a state of emergency before December 31, 2026.
The capital is the worst affected. Harare’s sewer network runs for 5,500 kilometres. Its seven pump stations and seven primary treatment works can in theory handle 219.5 megalitres a day, but most of them are out of action. The Firle plant was built to treat 144 megalitres a day and now manages only 54. The Crowborough plant has stopped working altogether.
The worst spot is Amalinda Crossing. The trunk mains there collapsed more than fifteen years ago and were never repaired. At that point alone, about 80 megalitres of raw sewage pour into the Mukuvisi River every day. The Mukuvisi flows into Lake Chivero, Harare’s main source of drinking water. In practice, much of the capital drinks water drawn from downstream of its own sewers.
The committee’s measurements show how bad the damage is. Biological oxygen demand stands at 9.48 mg/L, four times the safe limit, and dissolved oxygen has fallen to 51.2%, below the healthy level of 60%. In urban rivers, turbidity averages close to 30 NTU, six times the recommended limit. Excess phosphates are killing fish and causing water hyacinth to spread.
The report also criticises how local councils have managed the system. According to lawmakers, Harare and Chitungwiza used the sewer fees paid by residents and fines imposed by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for other purposes instead of setting them aside for repairs. The two cities are now asking for about 9.3 million dollars in emergency funding. Harare wants 5.5 million dollars to rebuild the Amalinda trunk main and 1.34 million dollars for three pump sets at the Morton Jaffray water works. Engineers warn that without those pumps, greater Harare could run dry. Prosecutions brought by the EMA since 2014 have achieved almost nothing, because councils have repeatedly blamed power cuts to avoid convictions.
Chitungwiza, a town next to the capital, is in an even worse position. It receives only 12 megalitres of water a day against a demand of 112.5 megalitres. When drinking water runs short and sewers overflow, cholera becomes a real threat. Zimbabwe remembers this well: the 2008/09 epidemic infected 98,000 people and killed about 4,200. Among other measures, the committee proposes a law requiring sewer revenue to be set aside for repairs, and wants the National Environmental Fund to be funded before the end of the year.
Lawmakers hope the most urgent repairs will be finished by June 2027. It remains to be seen whether the government will declare a state of emergency and whether it can find the money.