The nation's capital, Harare, has not imported adequate supplies of chemicals to treat water, resulting in citizens resorting to shallow wells and rivers for water, according to health advocates.

CNN: Cholera kills 300 in battered Zimbabwe

The damage to cars from floods can be extensive depending on the water level, length of time in the water and type of water including contaminants, consumer advocates say.

WSJ: What Happens to All Those Swamped Cars?

Chris Graff, of the Environmental Defence Fund in Oakland, notes that advocates of new water projects become much less enthusiastic if it is proposed that the users pay for it.

ECONOMIST: Water policy

That's why chefs have become advocates for everything from water rights to farm-workers rights to farmers markets.

WSJ: Dan Barber's Culinary Crusade

But when there are huge financial interests on both sides of the matter and when doctors perform tests simply to avoid lawsuits, I worry about the scientific objectivity of any analysis like this that advocates such sweeping policy changes that could throw out many babies with the bath water.

FORBES: We Spend How Much On Unneeded Tests?

Advocates for the rapids have suggested the installation of an inflatable dam upstream that could better regulate water levels around the season to insure better rowing conditions.

WSJ: Real Rapids in Grand Rapids?