BCC seeks uninterrupted power supply for water treatment works

Peter Matika, [email protected]
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has engaged Zesa to facilitate dedicated electricity supplies for dams and pump stations to ensure efficient service delivery.

Unplanned power outages have created significant hurdles for the city’s water pumping and distribution network, leaving many households grappling with inconsistent water supplies outside set schedules.

For many residents and businesses, this is not just an inconvenience but a recurring challenge, as the council repeatedly blames power cuts for water supply disruptions.

Bulawayo Mayor, Councillor David Coltart, told a recent full council meeting held at the Council Chambers that having a dedicated power supply was ideal.

He said a stable electricity supply for the functioning of water pumps is essential in ensuring the equipment has a long lifespan.

“Without a reliable power source, our ability to deliver water to homes is severely compromised. We are hopeful that engaging ZETDC will lead to a solution that prioritises the water supply, ensuring that residents have consistent access to this essential resource,” he said.

Clr Coltart said taking steps to engage and secure commitment to addressing the frustrations faced by residents was critical and he hoped that a collaborative effort with Zesa would bring about a sustainable solution.

On several occasions, the council has said power cuts are worsening the city’s already dire water situation, as they not only disrupt water treatment works but also lead to the damage of critical pumps.

“If you go to Ncema, we have huge pumps there. They are not like your little borehole pumps that you can just turn on and off.

“We have been pleading with Zesa to inform us before they implement load-shedding so that we can switch our pumps off, but instead, they just switch off without warning,” said Clr Coltart.

He said the council wanted Zesa to spare the city’s water works from load-shedding to ensure uninterrupted supplies to residents, as well as the power utility and other businesses.

“Their unscheduled power cuts are damaging some of our pumps, and even when we have water, we still face a problem with Zesa,” Clr Coltart said.

Meanwhile, he said the local authority was also working on installing solar pump plants at Ncema so that it would not have to rely solely on electricity.

The recent rains have offered some hope that the situation at the city’s supply dams might improve, but indications from the council show that inflows have been very minimal.

Last year, the municipality appealed to the Government to declare the city a water crisis area to enable the council to seek external funding for short-to-medium-term interventions to alleviate the challenges.