For example, many residents informed Human Rights Watch that donor agencies had drilled boreholes to help relieve water scarcity during the 2008/2009 cholera epidemic and that these boreholes provided communities with an important source of water. According to residents, many boreholes were not maintained, and now a significant number of them are either broken or contaminated. Even government studies show that at least 33 percent of tested boreholes in Harare are contaminated.[83] However, because many boreholes were originally provided by donors, residents tend to perceive them as safer water sources. The breakdown and contamination of these as a reliable source of potable water has complicated and worsened an already dire water shortage. Donors we spoke to said that they had handed over management and maintenance of boreholes to the local government once the cholera crisis had subsided. However, given the limited capacity of the local government to provide basic water and sanitation services for residents, a successful government handover was unlikely.