Fresh water crisis for Bulawayo as city runs out of water treatment chemicals

BULAWAYO City council has run out of stock of key water treatment chemicals.

The situation could result is serious water shortages at a time of massive heat waves.

According to the latest council report, the local authority has run out of ammonia while their polyelectrolyte stocks are also running low.

 Ammonia is used to assist chlorine in the disinfection process of water while polyelectrolytes are used in a process coagulation and flocculation which helps clear murky waters.

 Ncema Treatment Works requires 300 kilogrammes a month of ammonia but there is not at the moment.

 At the same station, the city also does not have any stocks of polyelectrolyte, of which they require 450 kilogrammes a month.

 At Ncema, the city is also left with just nine days worth of Chlorine.

The local authority has also totally run out of Polyelectrolyte stocks at their Criterion.

Bulawayo City Council public relations officer Bongiwe Ngwenya, however, said there was no need for residents to panic as these chemicals were not a crucial component of the water treatment process.

"Ammonia is simply meant to keep chlorine in water for a long period, of which if we don't have any we simply increase the chlorine which we use. Polyelectrolytes on the other hand are a mere catalyst, therefore at the end of the day there is no need for residents to panic on this shortage," said Miss Ngwenya.