WHH Community Piped Water Supply Scheme

Mhondoro

Norton

Project Specifications

Location

Mhondoro and Norton, Zimbabwe

Water Use

Storage solution

Completion Date

25 June to 02 August 2026

Scope

7 km of 50 mm PN10 water supply pipeline across three sites
6 km of 32 mm PN10 water distribution pipeline
2.2 kW stainless-steel impeller CRI submersible pumps
Six 5,000-litre water storage tanks
One 10,000-litre water storage tank
Associated fittings, valves and accessories required for the operation of the water supply systems
120m perimeter palisade fence
12 x 200watts motion sensor solar lights
3 x 2inch water meters

Project Challenges

The project encountered several operational and community-related challenges during implementation:

High silt/fines content in the boreholes, which contributed to the clogging of water meters and blockage of air-release valves.
Slow progress in community trench excavation in one big site, which affected the pace of pipeline installation and placed pressure on the overall project timelines.
Low community participation and turnout, resulting in reduced availability of labour and support for trenching and other community-based activities.

The Forster Irrigation Solution

Forster Irrigation implemented direct technical and project management interventions to guarantee full operational success:

Filtration Engineering (Silt Mitigation): Installed 2-inch heavy-duty disc filters to trap fine silt particles before reaching the meters and valves, eliminating clogging and extending hardware lifespan.
Agile Task Sequencing: When community trenching slowed down at one site, technical crews dynamically pivoted to concurrent tasks (palisade fencing, solar light mounting, and storage tank erection) to prevent downtime.
Extended Crew Hours: To bridge the gap caused by low local labor turnout, Forster Irrigation deployed additional on-site technical personnel and extended working hours to maintain pipeline laying schedules.

Project Outcome

Despite severe ground-water siltation and local labor shortages, Forster Irrigation successfully installed 13 km of reticulation infrastructure, 40,000L of storage, and secured pump stations across Mhondoro and Norton on schedule.