ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Diffuse pollution of urban groundwater can be a threat to domestic water supplies and a challenge to water and land management. Diffuse pollution of shallow groundwater in the Harare urban area, Zimbabwe, was characterised through an investigation of seven sites within the metropolitan area: two industrial sites, a semi-formal settlement, a sewage works, two landfills and a cemetery. Boreholes were drilled, groundwater sampled and chemical and microbiological analyses carried out. It was determined that industrial sites raise problems of metals and acidity, whilst the other sites studied showed problems with nutrients and coliform bacteria. As Harare expands, it is essential that spatial control of development be governed by geotechnical and environmental considerations, and not by land availability, in order to avoid such problems recurring elsewhere. This requires integrating land-use planning and geotechnical mapping, for better protection of the subsurface and surface environment from diffuse pollution.
