adminIn Bulawayo the problem is as a result of inadequate water in the city’s supply dams and the limited pumping capacity. This has forced the city council to introduce stringent water rationing whereby residents in some cases go for up to four days without water. According to the Bulawayo City Council, the city’s daily water consumption has to be reduced to at least 95 000 cubic metres if the little water left in the city’s supply dams, Insiza, Upper Ncema and Inyakuni is to last until the next rainy season.
In Gweru the story is different because the city has adequate water in its main supply dam, Gwenoro, to last up to two years even if it does not rain. The challenge facing the city is its limited pumping capacity. New suburbs such as Mkoba Village 19 have gone for years without water. Most suburbs only receive water at night as a result of the limited pumping capacity.
The city requires at least six pumps but is operating with three which constantly break down because they are too old. In 2010 Gweru City Council with the assistance of the Germany Technical Corporation embarked on a programme to rehabilitate its water and sewer reticulation systems but not much has changed.
According to residents the situation is getting worse by each passing day instead of improving.
Harare is facing a similar problem of failing to pump adequate water to meet the city’s daily requirements and suburbs such as Tafara, Mabvuku and the greater eastern side of the city have gone for years without water. Residents have resorted to either drilling boreholes or sinking wells as they have lost hope of ever being supplied municipal water.
Harare and its satellite town of Chitungwiza were the worst affected by the 2008 cholera outbreak and this was mainly because of water shortages. Many towns and cities are sitting on a time bomb and there is therefore urgent need to address the issue of the towns’ pumping capacities.
Many municipalities after independence went to sleep and forgot to upgrade their pumping capacities to correspond with the expanding cities and towns. New suburbs continue to be built but not much is being invested in upgrading the water and sewer reticulation systems. Many of the towns and cities are just pumping about 50 percent of their daily water consumption and unless the issue of upgrading the pumping capacities is addressed soon, many of the towns and cities might find themselves pumping far less than 50 percent.
Residents cannot continue to put their lives at risk by drinking untreated water from either boreholes or wells yet they continue to pay rates and other service charges to councils. Councils have an obligation to see to it that residents have access to treated water. We need running water for 24 hours a day as was the case in the past. This is only possible when councils prioritise upgrading of the pumping capacities in line with the size of the city or town.
Most of the pumps, pipes and other reticulation infrastructure is too old and therefore needs to be replaced. Water is life and as such councils that fail to supply residents with treated water are tampering with people’s lives. We want to once again implore councils to urgently address their shortcomings of failing to upgrade their pumping capacities in line with their expanded settlements.
Online Reporter