News / National
Water leaks haunt City of Gweru
04 Jun 2025 at 09:31hrs | Views
The Gweru City Council has temporarily shut down water pumps at Gwenoro Dam to attend to persistent water leaks that continue to undermine service delivery in the Midlands capital.
In a statement issued on Monday, council announced a 48-hour total shutdown of the Gwenoro water supply system to facilitate emergency repairs on the city's main water transmission line. The shutdown began on Monday and was expected to last until Wednesday.
"This shutdown is necessary to repair leaks on the transmission line, which will help us to avoid water loss and ensure a more efficient water supply system," read the statement.
The ongoing water infrastructure problems have drawn criticism from local stakeholders, with residents urging the council to implement long-term solutions rather than reactive measures.
David Chikore, director of the Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association, said the frequent shutdowns highlight a deeper infrastructure problem.
"Every year, council has to attend to these water leaks. As residents, we feel this issue should be addressed once and for all by replacing obsolete pipes," Chikore said.
According to a 2018 Service Level Benchmarking peer review report, Gweru was losing approximately 57% of treated water due to frequent pipe bursts and leaks - a figure that raised concerns about the sustainability of the city's water delivery system.
The peer review committee recommended that the city modernise its water reticulation infrastructure to curb the loss of treated water and reduce costs associated with water treatment, labour, and electricity.
In its 2020 internal report, council acknowledged the severity of the problem, stating that water leaks were "seriously compromising" efforts to pump water to all suburbs consistently.
With recurring pipe failures and rising demand, the latest shutdown has renewed calls for urgent investment in Gweru's ageing water infrastructure to ensure long-term reliability and efficiency in service delivery.
In a statement issued on Monday, council announced a 48-hour total shutdown of the Gwenoro water supply system to facilitate emergency repairs on the city's main water transmission line. The shutdown began on Monday and was expected to last until Wednesday.
"This shutdown is necessary to repair leaks on the transmission line, which will help us to avoid water loss and ensure a more efficient water supply system," read the statement.
The ongoing water infrastructure problems have drawn criticism from local stakeholders, with residents urging the council to implement long-term solutions rather than reactive measures.
David Chikore, director of the Gweru United Progressive Residents and Ratepayers Development Association, said the frequent shutdowns highlight a deeper infrastructure problem.
According to a 2018 Service Level Benchmarking peer review report, Gweru was losing approximately 57% of treated water due to frequent pipe bursts and leaks - a figure that raised concerns about the sustainability of the city's water delivery system.
The peer review committee recommended that the city modernise its water reticulation infrastructure to curb the loss of treated water and reduce costs associated with water treatment, labour, and electricity.
In its 2020 internal report, council acknowledged the severity of the problem, stating that water leaks were "seriously compromising" efforts to pump water to all suburbs consistently.
With recurring pipe failures and rising demand, the latest shutdown has renewed calls for urgent investment in Gweru's ageing water infrastructure to ensure long-term reliability and efficiency in service delivery.
Source - NewsDay
