Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council is set to implement daily water restoration programs for the next two weeks following the completion of repairs to the major pipe burst on the Flowserve line.
On Tuesday, the city of Bulawayo informed residents and stakeholders of a temporary water supply interruption which was set to commence on Tuesday 27 August 2024 to Wednesday 28 August 2024.
The interruption was meant to pave way for critical repairs on the leaking Flowserve raw water pipeline which resulted in reduced raw water delivery and subsequent reduced treatment at the Water Works.
To protect the City’s water reservoirs from collapsing, council temporarily cut off to all areas except for the Central Business District (CBD) and Industry.
In an update seen by the Sunday News by the city’s Director of Engineering Engineer Sikhumbuzo Ncube, he highlighted that the repairs are complete and the council will soon implement a daily water restoration program.
“I am pleased to report that repairs to the major pipe burst on the Flowserve line are complete, and we are currently testing the line that supplies raw water to criterion. The team is now attending to the vandalized valve near Chipangali. Updates will be shared on progress made.
“Given the current water crisis and to allow the system to recover, including key reservoirs in the City, we will implement daily water restoration programs for the next two weeks,” he said.
The pipeline experienced a crack due to pressure fluctuations, which caused the Victaulic Joint (VJ) coupling to fail, leading to a subsequent pipe rupture.
Meanwhile, as of August 29 2024, the Water and Sanitation Department has initiated the transfer of raw water from Upper Ncema to Lower Ncema, a process which is expected to take between one to two weeks, contingent upon downstream river conditions.
Once Upper Ncema is depleted, council advised that a formal announcement will be made regarding its decommissioning.
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derick.khumalo