Harare, (New Ziana) – The City of Harare and its private water infrastructure partner, Helcraw Water, have assured residents that the intermittent discharge of air from household taps is a result of trapped air in water pipelines and not caused by the recently introduced prepaid smart water meters.
In a joint public statement, the two parties said the prepaid and conventional water meters operate using the same measurement mechanism and that neither type of meter can introduce or trap air inside the water distribution system.
“The operation of prepaid mechanical measurement principle is conventional water meters. The only difference is the payment platform; the metering mechanism itself is identical,” the statement said.
The statement comes amid concerns from some residents who had linked the release of air from taps to the installation of prepaid water meters currently being rolled out across the capital.
According to the City of Harare and Helcraw Water, technical investigations established that air can become trapped in water mains after pipeline repairs, replacement works, intermittent water supply conditions or when automatic air release valves are absent or inadequate.
When water supply is restored, the compressed air moves through the distribution network and may pass through consumers’ meters before normal water flow resumes.
The statement also clarified that while conventional water meter technology has limitations in distinguishing between water and compressed air under certain network conditions, the prepaid meters do not measure insignificant quantities of air and are designed to accurately record water consumption.
“The major challenge lies in improving water distribution infrastructure to both reduce and manage residual air within the network,” the statement said.
Residents experiencing only air coming out of their taps have been urged to report the affected location to the City of Harare or Helcraw Water to enable technical teams to investigate and rectify the problem.
The statement further revealed that ongoing rehabilitation works are aimed at addressing the root causes of the problem. These include replacing ageing pipelines, repairing leaks and bursts, installing automatic air release valves, and undertaking pressure management to improve the overall performance of the city’s water distribution system.
The infrastructure upgrades form part of a broader public-private partnership between the City of Harare and Helcraw Water, a Zimbabwean water infrastructure company specializing in smart prepaid water metering, rehabilitation of water distribution networks and water treatment systems. The partnership is also targeting reduced water losses, improved billing efficiency and enhanced reliability of water supplies across the capital.
The City of Harare reiterated its commitment to delivering reliable, transparent and technically sound water services, saying it would continue engaging residents while implementing engineering solutions to strengthen the integrity and performance of the municipal water supply network.
New Ziana
