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Locadia Mavhudzi Midlands Correspondent
Gweru City Council is losing up to 50 percent of its treated water through leaks due to ageing pipes and increased vandalism as farmers in peri-urban areas along the main pipeline are vandalising it to get water for their livestock as water sources continue to dry up due to excessive heat.
Council director of engineering services, Engineer Robson Manatsa said water leaks are on the rise, adding that council is consistently incurring labour, power and water treatment costs — a situation he said is compromising service delivery.
“We are attending to so many burst pipes and leakages and up to 50 percent of treated water is being lost. We have reports of some peri-urban farmers who are vandalising our pipes to gain access to the water for human and livestock consumption. We cannot rule that out because many water sources have dried up including our main water source, Gwenhoro Dam,” he said.
Eng Manatsa said they are working around the clock to plug the leakages and have since put in place a reaction team to respond to spontaneous bursts. He, however, said there is need for a long term investment to replace the old pipes. “We are responding spontaneously to all reported cases of water leakages. Our pipes are now old and the whole system needs a revamp. That is in our long-term plan. Currently, the local authority cannot do much as we are also crippled by the economic state,” he said.
Gweru residents have often gone for weeks without water especially in high lying areas such as Mkoba 19, 20, 21 while areas like Ridgemont and some parts of Harben Park have now gone for over three months without portable water.
Meanwhile, Eng Manatsa said water shortages will continue since they are currently pumping 30 megalitres of water per day against a demand of over 65 megalitres.
Online Reporter