Water supply shortages in Zambia

A major environmental disaster began on 18 February 2025, when a containment structure at the Sino-Metals Leach Zambia mining facility failed. Engineering Institution of Zambia investigators determined that a tailings dam, designed to store mining waste, collapsed. 
The structural failure released approximately 50 thousand cubic metres (13 million US gallons) of highly toxic effluent containing concentrated acid and dissolved solids into the Kafue River ecosystem.

The contaminated discharge flowed into the Kafue River via its tributary, the Mwambashi River. 
The spill created widespread ecological damage that was observed at least 100 kilometres (60 mi) downstream from the mining facility. A mass mortality of fish populations, with dead specimens washing onto riverbeds, and the disappearance of birdlife from "previously thriving" riverine habitats were reported. 

Crops along the river banks were destroyed as mining waste seeped into the soil, potentially contaminating groundwater reservoirs. The heavy and chronic exposure of the ecosystem to mining waste led to concerns about long-term ecosystem damage and bioaccumulation of heavy metals.

Starting in January 2024, most of Zambia began experiencing an ongoing drought, considered to be the worst to hit the country in at least two decades, leading to severe food shortages, water scarcity, and a national emergency declaration. 

The drought is affecting 84 of the 116 districts across Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Lusaka, Northwestern, Southern, and Western provinces. Triggered by an El Niño-induced dry spell, the drought continues to have profound impacts on agriculture, water supply, and food security, affecting over a million children and households across the nation.

Zambia's economy and food security are heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture, making the country particularly vulnerable to changes in weather patterns. The 2023-2024 rainy season saw the influence of El Niño, leading to significantly reduced rainfall and the onset of severe drought conditions, which persist to the present day.
President Hakainde Hichilema declared the drought a national disaster.

Kabwe has been hit by an erratic water supply, a situation that has forced the residents to go for over two months without life’s most essential commodity - water.

The residents have told that they are badly affected by the continued water shortages because they can only access piped water between 05:00hrs and 10:00hrs in the mornings.

The study found that 75 percent of household-stored water was contaminated with E. coli, leading to frequent diarrhea and subsequent poor nutritional absorption. Poor nutritional absorption has caused Zambia’s high rate of child stunting and prevalent failure to thrive. Additionally, because women and girls are overwhelmingly responsible for fetching water for their families, they are also often the most affected by waterborne illnesses and their consequences.

An estimated 2.3 million people in Zambia are on the brink of starvation, threatened by a severe drought caused by dwindling rainfall, which its president Edgar Lungu has explicitly linked to climate change, though some scientists add that we should be cautious to make this connection.

In particular, Zambia's maize-growing Southern and Western provinces have been hit hard by droughts, a situation that has prompted the government to impose an export ban on the grain.

Despite calls urging the Zambian government to declare a food emergency amid the worst droughts in nearly four decades, the government insists the country has enough food and the situation is under control.

The world's largest man-made reservoir, the Kariba Dam – which has provided electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe for over five decades – hasn't been spared by the droughts. According to the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), in recent months the inflows of water from the Zambezi River that feed it have dwindled to a third compared to a year ago.

The shortage of water seems to be getting worse in many parts of the country, especially for Lusaka residents, most of whom now spend sleepless nights looking for the commodity.

Water supply in Zambia’s capital remains a challenge and has been exacerbated by delayed rainfall leading to receded water levels in key sources of the resource.

It goes without mention that the underground water tables have also significantly receded and cannot satisfy the growing demand.