( dpa )- Zimbabwe's capital Harare will go without water for a week, the state-run water authority announced Sunday in the latest set-back for struggling residents.
Zimbabwe National Water Authority ((ZINWA) general manager Lisben Chipfunde blamed the cut ,which starts Monday, on major power outages at the main Morton Jaffray treatment plant.
Parts of Harare's sprawling dormitory town of Chitungwiza will also be affected.
" Harare and parts of Chitungwiza will this whole week experience a loss of water supplies due to problems beyond our control," Chipfunde told the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper.
"We are really concerned about the frequency of power cuts, which are affecting our plant." News of the cuts come after record rains in December. Zimbabwe's dams are now 87 per cent full, reports said earlier this month. Lake Chivero , Harare's main water supply, is already overflowing.
Despite the rains, Harare's more than 1.5 million residents struggle with long water cuts, exacerbated by power shortages, burst sewage pipe and mounting piles of uncollected refuse.
In a separate report, the Sunday Mail said more than 400 cases of diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera, had been diagnosed in recent weeks in the twin eastern suburbs of Tafara and Mabvuku .
There have been a number of deaths.