Bulawayo City faces worst water crisis

BULAWAYO could be staring at the worst water crisis in five years as it has emerged that the combined capacity of supply dams for the city was now 30 percent, 10 percent lower than the 2012 and 2013 average figures when the city experienced one of the most crippling water crisis in recent years.

Experts noted that at 30 percent, the water was only enough to last the city five months at current consumption levels.

According to data from the Bulawayo City Council, the supply dams as at Friday were at an average of 31,2 percent capacity.

Around this time of the year in 2012 and 2013, Bulawayo's supply dams averaged 43,1 and 42,8 percent respectively.

A visit to some of the supply dams last week showed that raw water levels were critical and authorities may be forced to introduce tighter water conservation regimes. Bulawayo faced serious water shortages in 2012 and 2013 and authorities introduced a 72-hour water-shedding regime to contain the water scarcity. The city draws water from six supply dams namely

Upper and Lower Ncema, Inyankuni, Umzingwane, Mtshabezi, and Insiza Mayfair.

Latest council data shows that Upper Ncema is in the red at two percent capacity and has since been decommissioned while Umzingwane which is at 2,23 percent full is also expected to be decommissioned in the next two months.

Inyankuni is at 11 percent capacity, Lower Ncema 29 percent full, Insiza Mayfair 47 percent full and Mtshabezi is 56 percent full.

The council is also facing the problem of reduced pumping capacities at some of the dams with high water levels curtailing efforts to ensure that water is readily available.

BCC senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the local authority was employing a number of measures, apart from water-shedding, to deal with the water crisis.

"Apart from water-shedding, the Epping Forest Scheme has commenced with the contractor officially on site from Monday 10 October 2016. Zinwa is also rehabilitating an extra 20 boreholes at the Rochester Scheme to increase possible supply to 10 mega litres per day by December this year. BCC would embark on repair of non-functional community boreholes city wide," she said.

She said residents should not start hoarding water as the 24-hour water-shedding schedule had not yet started.

"Water shedding is starting on 1 November but some residents have already started collecting water in containers. We would like to urge residents not to hoard water and use water sparingly," said Mrs Mpofu.

The proposed 24-hour water shedding schedule will see areas such as Nkulumane, Emganwini, Nketa, Pumula, Sizinda, Tshabalala, Bellevue, Newton West, Southwold, and West Somerton, go without water on Mondays. Esigodini, Imbizo Barracks, Mbalabala Barracks, Mzinyathini Irrigation Scheme as well as eastern suburbs will also experience water cuts on Mondays.

Cowdray Park, Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Emakhandeni, Barbourfields, Mzilikazi, Nguboyenja, Mpopoma, Makokoba, Lobengula, Pelandaba and Matshobane, will not have water supply on Tuesdays.

The Central Business District (CBD) and industrial areas have been exempted from water-shedding.

Bulawayo made international headlines in 2012 when it introduced the "Big Flush", a synchronised toilet-flushing programme on weekends, aimed at unblocking the city's sewer system after prolonged water restrictions. The city is not the only metropolis facing water shortages as other cities and towns around the country are blighted with the same phenomenon due to the erratic rainfall received across the country in the past rainy season.

Zimbabwe like most parts of the region suffered effects of the El Nino weather pattern, caused by Pacific Ocean warming and is characterised by floods and drought in some areas. The only reprieve is that the Meteorological Department has predicted that this year most parts of the country will receive above average rains and the rains were likely to come early.