THE Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) has said that industries in Ndola have been given progressive time in which to reduce their emissions that even affect the quality of water.

ECZ Senior Inspector Maxwell Chibanga said on Thursday evening during the water night discussion organised by Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company (KWSC) that the local industries had been given progressive time to reduce emissions that also affect the quality of water..

Mr Chibanga said when the Government made the 1996 Air Emission Regulation Act, there wasn't a company that was ready to reduce emissions to the accepted standards.

He said reducing emissions required huge capital investments and it was in that light that industries including the ones in Ndola were given a progressive time to reduce emissions.

"Most companies are working on it and I know Lafarge and Ndola Lime have acquired machinery to reduce dust emissions," Mr Chibanga.

He said this in response to a question from a member of the public who wanted to know what the ECZ was doing to penalise industrial companies that emitted particles which ended up affecting the water.

Mr Chibanga said the ECZ had implemented licensing as a way to ensure that water utility companies in the country supplied safe water to drink.

He said there were standards that should be met before a company was given a licence for one year.

And officiating at the event, Copperbelt Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima said water quality was essential in determining human poverty, wealth and education.

Mr Mbulakulima said in a speech read on his behalf by the Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Villie Lombanya that access to water was therefore fundamental to development and very important to the attainment of all Millennium Development Goals.

He said that the implementation of water reforms by Government had achieved 11 utility companies and a regulator which had proved to be more efficient in dealing with quality water supply.

KWSC Managing Director Ian Banda assured the Ndola residents that the company was working to improve the hours of water supply as well as the quality of water.

Mr Banda said his company had so far achieved all that it had through internally sourced funds which was a huge challenge.

He said the management had therefore written several proposals to cooperating partners requesting funding so a s to improve water supply.