Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
Unscrupulous small-scale farmers located close to Hope Fountain, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, have reportedly tampered with one of the city’s treated bulk water lines, creating an unauthorised drinking spot for their cattle.
The reckless act has added to the city’s woes, as it grapples with a staggering 50 percent loss of treated water, primarily due to aging infrastructure, relentless leakages, and deliberate vandalism.
As residents endure a harsh 120-hour water-shedding schedule, a direct consequence of the El Niño-induced dry spell, that has left supply dams parched, the vandalism of key water infrastructure makes the water situation spiral out of control.
According to the latest council report, the local authority revealed that the bulk line leakage was an air vessel that the residents had tampered with, partially opening it to form a well.
In addition to the farmers’ actions, illegal gold panners have further complicated the situation by interfering with the water line’s valves.
“Councillor Velile Mpofu indicated that there was water leakage on the bulk line at Hope Fountain along Bulawayo Drive which had become a drinking spot for cattle. A lot of water was being lost in that area.
“In response, the Director of Water and Sanitation (Engineer Sikhumbuzo Ncube) explained that the place was an air vessel which the residents had tampered with, partially opening it to form a well. Illegal gold panners were also part of the culprits tampering with the valves,” reads the report.
The compromising of the bulk line vital for supplying clean water to various parts of Bulawayo has led to fears of contamination and reduced water pressure for residents, as the water crisis continues to escalate.
The influx of illegal mining activities in the area has also led to increased environmental degradation and raises serious concerns about the safety of drinking water.
Meanwhile, the city continues to lose a bulk of its treated water before it reaches residents due to pipe bursts and leaks, which has seen the local authority identifying areas with water mains that normally had recurrent burst pipes to be replaced this year.
According to the council report, the city is losing 46 percent of its water, which they classify as non-revenue water, through physical leaks, unauthorised consumption, metering issues and billing errors.
“The city lost 46 percent of the water it produced due to water leaks and bursts as well as commercial losses from billing inaccuracies. The proportion of physical losses to apparent losses was 33 percent to 13 percent. To reduce the level of NRW the city has also identified areas with water mains that normally had recurrent burst pipes to be replaced in 2024.
“The city had a total of 136 156 connections and 23 118 (17 percent) meters were reported to be non-functional due to a number of reasons such as no meter, meter broken, meter stopped and digits misaligned. Focus would also be aligned to metering of major consumers and industry including commerce,” reads the report.
The local authority further noted that some of the high NRW losses were as a result of some leaking fire hydrants in the city, with a provisional list having been drawn up for maintenance and repair of these hydrants.
“The water lost from the overflowing reservoir also greatly contributed to high physical non-revenue water levels and was not sustainable for a water-stressed city like Bulawayo.
“The city was currently under a 120-hour shedding programme which became more and more challenging to operate in the absence of reservoir level control mechanisms. This component focused on metering of city reservoirs and installation of reservoir level control mechanisms,” reads the report.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter