Ipusukilo residents reject purified water

By ALEX NJOVU

SOME people in Ipusukilo Township in Kitwe have continued rejecting to drink purified water provided by Nkana Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) claiming that it is making them barren or impotent.

The residents are drinking dirty water from shallow wells which are built close to lavatories.

Efforts by various stakeholders including medical authorities from Kitwe District Heath Management Team (KDHMT) to educate the residents against drinking dirty water have fallen on deaf ears as some residents have vowed to continue drinking water from the shallow wells which is contaminated with maggots.

NWSC public relations manager Damaseke Chibale complained that his company has had difficulties dealing with some people in the vast township.

“It is true that some people in Ipusukilo township are rejecting treated water that we are providing for them in preference to water from shallow wells. We have built over 25 kiosks in the area and at one point, in fact last year, we were forced to provide water for free but some people still could not access treated water saying it is making their wives and husbands barren,” he said.

Mr Chibale said the water firm is working with various stakeholders in sensitizing residents against drinking dirty water.

He commended the Government for its commitment to providing its people with clean water and sanitation services.

“Not too long ago, the Government through Kitwe district commissioner Macdonald Mtine led a group of various stakeholders including health officials in touring Ipusukilo township, telling people to stop drinking dirty water. We even started burying some wells but it is shocking to learn that some people are still drinking water from shallow wells,” Mr Chibale said.

He called on the senior citizen in Ipusukilo township to offer leadership by preventing young women and men from drinking dirty water.

Mr Chibale said NWSC is spending a lot of money in purchasing water chemicals to purify water and urged Ipusukilo to drink the company water because it is safe.

“ It is just a myth, there is nothing like people becoming barren or impotent after drinking treated water,” he said.   

Meanwhile some residents told the Daily Mail during the tour of the township that they have been drinking water from shallow wells for many years and that they are not prepared to stop.

Sikahige’li Mabona claimed that treated water makes women barren and that most men become infertile after drinking water.

Ms Mabona said her grandmother warned her against drinking treated water last year before she died.

Another resident, Belinda Mutaka claimed that her husband become impotent in 2009 following continues drinking of treated water.

“My husband became infertile in 2009 and the reason is because of the same water we have been drinking. Unfortunately he died 12 months ago not because of the water but the issue is that he died an impotent man, which was a source of concern to me as a woman,” she said.

Ms Mutaka 75 said she has been drinking water from the shallow wells since she was a youth and bragged that it does not make sense for anyone to tell her about the dangers of drinking dirty water.

A tour further in the vast township revealed that some residents have started vandalizing water infrastructure belonging to NWSC.

The residents talked to warned against advising them to stop drinking dirty water from the shallow wells.

“Our great grandparents drunk this water from shallow wells, they never suffered from cholera or any other water born disease therefore we don’t see any reason why we should stop, in any case this water is healthy to us while the one which is provided by Nkana water makes our children to be barren and impotent,” Ms Mutaka said.

Ms Mutaka who has lived in Ipusukilo township for several years advised young people to ignore medical advise on dirty water and continue drinking water from the shallow wells.

ENDS//.