Chronicle Editor
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
WATER inflows into Bulawayo supply dams remain low despite the recent rains with the overall level for the six supply dams at 44.24 percent as of last week.
This is despite some dams in other parts of the country already full and spilling.
According to the latest dam levels from the City of Bulawayo, Mtshabezi Dam has the highest inflow currently at 72. 77 percent and Insiza Dam at 60.38 percent. Inyankuni Dam is at 31.07 percent, Lower Ncema at a low of 17.42 percent full while Upper Ncema stands at 23 percent.
Umzingwane Dam has the lowest percentage of 4. 70 percent.
The council, however, highlighted that the low dam level indicated that the water levels in the reservoirs were significantly lower than desired.
The low water levels result in reduced head, affecting water gravitation and pumping outputs to fill the reservoirs. Umzingwane Dam was decommissioned on 19 November last year on depletion of usable volume.
“The decommissioning would result in a reduction of the city’s abstraction volume by 7ML/day, the dam’s contribution at the time of decommissioning when it was using one pump. Under optimal conditions, with sufficient water storage in the dam and all booster pumps operational, the dam typically contributed approximately 35ML/day to the city’s water supply. Since the decommissioning of Umzingwane, the city had not been able to meet its daily demand which averages 155M?/day,” read the latest council minutes.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), however, announced last week that at least 15 of the country’s major dams were now full following the recent rains except for those in the Matabeleland region.
The authority highlighted that most dams were receiving substantial inflows following the rains that were experienced in the past week throughout the country.
They further said they were monitoring inflows into the various dams. Due to the shortage of water in most parts of the country, consumers have resorted to drilling boreholes.
The national dam average as of last month stood at 81 percent, with Lake Chivero that supplies Harare City full at 100.3 percent.
Tugwi-Mukosi in Masvingo was at 86.4 percent full while Lake Mutirikwi was at 95.1 percent.
Water supply to cities and towns is critical as the country is grappling with a cholera outbreak that has so far claimed several lives. @NyembeziMu
Online Reporter