Byo residents urged to conserve water

Whinsley Masara, Chronicle Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has urged residents to conserve water to delay water rationing as the city’s main supply dams are at 50 percent capacity with the dam levels continuing to fall.

The Director of Engineering and Water Services, Engineer Simela Dube, said the normal to below normal rainfall prediction for the next rainy season means that people should start conserving water.

“The current weather predictions are not good, with predictions of normal to below normal rainfall meaning we could have another dry season in terms of inflows into the dams. Our critical dams which are Umzingwane and Upper Ncema, are just about 50 percent full, hence our call to residents to use water sparingly to avoid the city from running dry,” he said.

Eng Dube said when it is hot, the rate of evaporation increases and loss of water is high.

“Due to the increased temperatures we are experiencing now, it makes water rationing unavoidable hence our call for residents to use water wisely. The challenge that we have is that in the last season of 2017 and 2018 rainy season, we didn’t get any inflows into the dams so we continue to consume what we got in 2017,” he said. “Water rationing is a process that is already there but council may be forced to intensify it sooner to avoid crisis. We therefore appeal to the communities to try to conserve the little water that they have before we maybe come in to institute a formal water rationing programme or tighten it.” — @winnie_masara.