Safe and adequate supply of water is essential for all human life. Rapid urbanization has resulted in straining municipal resources to provide adequate water supply and refuse collection services. Lack of enough water has forced residents to look for alternative water sources such as shallow wells and boreholes. In this study, we analysed water quality from 10 boreholes and 15 wells randomly selected in Hatcliffe high density residential suburb in Harare. The microbiological, pH and nitrates concentrations of water samples from the two sources were analysed in the University of Zimbabwe’s Biological Sciences and Chemistry Department laboratories. The Student t- test was applied to test whether differences in nitrate concentration and pH values between borehole and shallow well water samples were significant. We observed that all water samples from shallow wells contained faecal coliforms greater than the recommended of (< 0 counts/100 ml) by the Standard Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ). Nevertheless, all borehole water samples had no faecal coliforms. The mean of pH (log10) of borehole water was 2.712+/-1.015; and wells, 2.721+/-0.093. The mean of nitrate concentration (log10) in borehole water was 4.258+/ -0.715 mg/L and that for wells, 3.076 +/-1.283 mg/L. We found no significant differences in the means of nitrate concentration and pH values between borehole and shallow well water samples (nitrates: p = 0.330, t=0.10; pH: p = 0.351, t = 0.952). From the research findings, we therefore concluded that well water in Hatcliffe residential area does not meet the SAZ standards, hence is not be suitable for drinking.