At a Glance

Only half of the 4.5 million residents in and around Harare have access to city water.Polluted water from wells and boreholes is causing diseases like typhoid and cholera.The city can't meet its goal of making water available at least once a week.

More than 2 million people in and around the capital of Zimbabwe have no access to clean running water because of drought and an economic crisis, officials say.

In Harare, the capital city, and four satellite towns, to the municipal water supply, city officials told Climate Home News.

Michael Chideme, a spokesman for the Harare City Council, said some people are "going for weeks without a drop in their taps." Instead they are depending on water merchants, open wells, streams or boreholes.

“The situation is bad, period!” Chideme said.

Much of that water is highly polluted and is causing an increase in infections, Dr. Jean-Marie Kileshye from WaterNet told Climate Home News.

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The has reported at least 10 cases of typhoid in the suburb of Glen View and one case of cholera in Harare.

"It was bad when they started rationing it, we could store water but it is dire now, because we may have no water for days and," Nyasha Chingo, who lives in the Kuwadzana township, told CNN.

Harare's water supply used to come from four reservoirs, but two of those have dried up in the years-long drought. The other two are extremely polluted, Harare Mayor Herbert Gomba said.

More chemicals are needed at the city's one functioning water treatment plant to make it drinkable. Because those chemicals cost the city $3 million a month, officials are limiting the amount of water released to residents, Gomba said.

Harare Acting Water Director Mabhena Moyo said the city is trying to provide water to residents , according to All Africa.

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"We have been failing to reach our target or our demand management schedule because our production has gone down for a various reason," Moyo said.

In addition to drought, crumbling infrastructure and the country's crippling economic crisis are big factors in the lack of clean water.

Harare is one of several big cities facing water shortages because of climate change and an increase in extreme drought in recent years.