BCC to increase frequency of water-shedding

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) will with effect from Monday increase frequency of water-shedding from two days a week to three.
Speaking during a water crisis update meeting in the council chambers yesterday, the city's Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Simela Dube, said the decision was unavoidable. He said the situation was worsened by the recent decommissioning of a second supply dam, Umzingwane, increased incidents of pipe bursts and residents failing to use water within rationed limits.
Eng Dube said the situation was so dire that if the rainy season delayed, the city would end the year with one supply dam, Insiza, as Lower Ncema was likely to be decommissioned by the end of November and Inyankuni in December.
Immediately after the meeting, residents' associations called on people in the city to fully cooperate with council on water conservation to avert a disaster.

"The following strategies have been adopted to curb further water losses during water shedding: a modified water shedding programme from a 48- to 72-hour shedding cycle and installation of air release valves so as to reduce air in the system and thereby reduce the number of bursts," said Eng Dube.
He said high-placed residential areas such as Harrisvale continued to suffer long hours without supplies, adding that water to such areas would be opened much earlier instead of the normal 7.30am allowing quick recovery.
Eng Dube said the city centre, industrial areas and essential services like hospitals would continue being exempted under the new schedule.
He said shedding in all suburbs would be in two cycles, one of 48 hours and another for 24 hours with both cycles beginning and ending at 7.30am.
"Nkulumane, Emganwini, Nketa, Pumula, Sizinda, Tshabalala, Bellevue, Newton West, Southwold, West Somerton will have 48 hours of shedding from Monday at 7.30am to Wednesday at 7.30am. The next cycle for the suburbs will be 24 hours, from Thursday to Friday," said Eng Dube.He said all eastern suburbs would be without water from Tuesday to Thursday and Friday to Saturday.
"Cowdray Park, Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Emakhandeni, Barbourfields, Mzilikazi, Nguboyenja, Mpopoma, Makokoba, Lobengula, Mabutweni, Iminyela, Pelandaba, Matshobane will be shed on Wednesday to Thursday and Saturday to Sunday," said Eng Dube.
He said the cycles for Esigodini, Imbizo Barracks, Mbalabala Barracks, Mzinyathini Irrigation Scheme, all outside areas except mines, would be rationed from Monday to Wednesday and Thursday to Friday.
Eng Dube said the targeted daily water consumption limit had been reduced from 120 000 cubic metres to95 000.
He said it was, however, worrying that residents continued to use an average of 123 000 cubic metres a day.
The Director of Engineering Services said the frequency of leaks and pipe bursts had increased by about 50 percent since shedding began on 27 July.
He said before shedding, council used to carry over about 24 bursts to the next day but the figure had steadily increased to 64, meaning residents went for extended periods without water after supplies were cut off to effect repairs.
Speaking at the meeting, the Acting Mayor, Councillor Amen Mpofu, asked if water shedding was necessary since it increased water loss as there would be more pipe bursts.
Eng Dube said during the water crisis in 2005 the city had experimented with not restricting usage, with disastrous results.
"Some areas went for about six months without water after it was depleted in the dams. At one time, we had to shut down the whole system for about five days to accumulate water in the supply reservoirs. In 2007, water shedding helped us to pull through to the next rainy season. I think we have to shed water and come up with ways of managing pipe bursts," he said.
Eng Dube said the city would next week start fitting air valves at strategic points within the system to allow air to escape safely whenever water was turned on after shedding, a situation he said would reduce the frequency of pipe bursts.
The Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni, asked residents to immediately report leaks and bursts at (09) 60408, (09) 484134 during working hours, 0773 616 097, 0712 701 920 round the clock or the fire brigade's (09) 71717 after hours.
"The response time averages 15 minutes and if residents take it upon themselves to report quickly, the inconvenience of going without water outside the shedding schedule would be minimised," said Mr Nyoni.
Reacting to the new schedule, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) coordinator Mr Roderick Fayayo said the time had come for residents to unite and complement council's efforts to conserve water.
"Although I think we need to revisit the water shedding schedule, residents must come together and assist council by avoiding hoarding water or using more than they need. If we fail to unite, diseases will break out in the city," said Mr Fayayo.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairman, Mr Winos Dube, encouraged residents to pay bills to enable council to raise money to rehabilitate water infrastructure.
"If we do not pay or stick to rationing limits, people will die. Now is not the time to be pointing fingers, but the time to act with one accord to save lives," said Mr Dube.
The Mtshabezi-Umzingwane pipeline that is largely viewed as the short-term solution to Bulawayo's water problems has missed so many completion deadlines, that the city fathers have become sceptical about relying on it.
The city has since decided to push for the speedy completion of the duplication of the Insiza pipeline to be able to draw more water from the city's largest dam, which holds about 80 percent of Bulawayo's water.
The permanent solution is the Matabeleland Zambezi Water project, which has been on the drawing board for 100 years.
The Minister of Water Resources Management and Development, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, last month assured the region that the project would be completed in three years, following the securing of funding from China.