Day 4 – Part 1 continued: Customers of Batoka Water Works

Day 4 – Part 1 continued: Customers of Batoka Water Works

After the visit to Batoka Water Works we got the chance to interview a couple of the Batoka households to get their views on their water supply.

Nzila Muleya

Our first visit was to Nzila Muleya (19 years old) who lives with her mother, father and 6 brothers and sisters in Batoka. She is the fourth born and has lived in Batoka since 2008. Her father is a chemist and has his own business. Nzila is about to start a 7 year University course in Lusaka to study medicine and natural sciences. She would like to follow in her fathers footsteps and open up her own business. Nzila and her family have a water supply to their house, they have a tap at the side of their home.

The water tap at Nzila's house

Question Time with Nzila

Question 1: Have you always had access to water?

Answer: Yes, but we haven’t always had a tap at our house. Before moving to Batoka we had access to a communal hand pump.

Question 2: Do you like the taste of the water from Batoka Water Works?

Answer: Not always, sometimes it tastes chlotinated.

Question 3: Does everyone in the community have taps at their houses?

Answer: No, some have to use a shared water pump.

Lee (Northumbrian Water) and Helen (Environment Agency) with Nzila

Question 4: Have your family and friends always had access to clean water?

Answer: Yes.

Question 5: Is there anything you would change about your water and sanitation services?

Answer: Yes, I would like water and toilets inside our house. We have our own toilet but it is not inside the house.

Matt (Yorkshire Water) with Nzila

Brenda Mudenda

Our next visit was to Brenda Mudenda (35 years old). Brenda has lived in Batoka for 1 year and lives with her husband and 4 children (16, 14, 10 and 6 years old). They own the house they stay in and they also own the house adjacent to theirs which they rent out to another family. They have a water tap at their house and they share a toilet with their tenants.

Brenda's house

Question Time with Brenda

Question 1: Do you always have a good water supply?

Answer: No, it’s only on for an hour in the morning (06:00 to 07:00), an hour in the afternoon (12:00 to 13:00), when we only get a few drops out of the tap and for an hour in the evening (17:00 to 18:00).

Question 2: Do you like the taste of the water?

Answer: No, it tastes chlorinated.

Question 3: Have you and your family always had access to clean water?

Answer: No, we used to collect water from uncovered wells before moving to Batoka.

Question 4: Did you and your family get ill from drinking water from uncovered wells?

Answer: Yes, we did get ill. The water created a lot of diseases in the community. Our health has been a lot better since having access to safe water.

Question 5: Where do you get water from when your supply is off?

Answer: We use the local hand pump which always has a good supply.

It was a very interesting morning as we got the chance to hear from the water company and their customers. It’s evident that the clean water supply does give a lot of benefits to the community but it’s obvious that there are still a few challenges which will hopefully be addressed if funding allows.