Zambia charges for groundwater use amid drought and raised demand
Lusaka— Faced with longer droughts and growing water demand, the Zambian government has introduced fees on groundwater use. Under a new executive order that came into effect in March, owners of domestic boreholes are, for the first time, required to pay a one-off fee of 250 kwacha ($25) to have their well licensed. There will be no monthly or annual fees for domestic water users, but those who consume more than 10,000 litres a day will be charged a commercial fee of 5 kwacha for each additional 30m³ they extract, according to the government-run Water Resource Management Authority (Warma). Emmanuel Mumba, a legal counsellor at Warma, said that the utility has long been concerned about how groundwater and surface water were being managed, and prolonged droughts linked to climate change have made the situation worse. Population growth and increased water use by farming and industry also are putting pressure on the country’s dwindling water resources. "We are going to be monitoring grou...
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