Infrastructure failure worsens water crisis

Rutendo Nyeve, [email protected]
BULAWAYO is grappling with a severe water crisis due to declining abstraction volumes from its supply dams, which has been exacerbated by the city’s dilapidated infrastructure, which is failing to keep up with increased demand.

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has acknowledged the crisis, saying pumping of raw water has been drastically reduced, which has resulted in daily raw water delivery being slashed by half. Some suburbs are now going for weeks without water and the situation is even worse for those residents in high-lying areas that have gone for months without water.

A Chronicle news crew yesterday visited selected suburbs in the western areas and observed long winding queues of residents fetching water at boreholes and wells.

Residents could be seen pushing wheel barrows and pushcarts laden with water containers.
In Pumula East, some residents were fetching water from unprotected sources such as puddles in swampy areas while some women were spotted washing clothes using water from shallow wells they had just dug in the same area.

One of the residents in Cowdray Park, Mr Gerald Siziba, said their normal water rationing schedule has been interrupted for the past two weeks and were now receiving water for less than three hours per week.

“We normally start receiving water on Wednesday evening up until Saturday morning. However, in the last two weeks, water has been coming once a week for less than three hours,” he said.

In Sizinda suburb, Mr John Banda described the situation as unbearable.

“We are spending hours chasing water bowsers or digging into our pockets to buy water from vendors. Our area has not received water since last year,” he said.

Mr Banda said they had been told that they were in a high-lying area hence they had gone for months without water yet residents in other parts of Sizinda were receiving water. Residents said due to the prevailing water crisis, they were using the bush to relieve themselves, which was a health risk.

“Our taps have been dry since last week and it appears council is no longer following the water shedding schedule. We have now resorted to these fountains although the water is not safe for drinking,” said Ms Priscilla Moyo of Pumula East.

Mrs Betty Moyo (68) of Pumula North said she is forced to travel about 5km daily to fetch water from the unprotected sources.

“I wake up as early as 4AM and walk all the way to either Pumula East or Pumula South to fetch water from the fountains. The water is dirty but we have no choice because we are not getting municipal water,” she said.
A Mabutweni resident, Ms Linda Khumalo, said their taps have been dry for weeks.

“When the water comes, the pressure is very low, you can hardly fill a bucket.

“Some residents have resorted to fetching water from unprotected sources such as open wells,” she said.
In Mpopoma, residents said water comes on Thursdays until Saturday.

“This past week our schedule was not interrupted because we had water until Saturday”, said a resident who declined to be named.

Barbourfields has also been largely spared, with residents saying there has been minimal disruptions.
In a notice issued yesterday, Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube confirmed that repairs of the Umzingwane raw water pipeline were completed last week but the Sulzer pump remains out of service, leaving the city operating at just 50 percent capacity.

“The city is facing significant water supply challenges attributed to the aging and dilapidated condition of its bulk water infrastructure.

“Due to the infrastructure’s frequent breakdowns, residents are continuing to experience erratic water supply interruptions,” he said.

Mr Dube said the repairs on the Umzingwane raw water pipeline at Mzinyathi were completed last Thursday.

“The Sulzer raw water pump repairs are still outstanding. At the moment, the city is working on mobilising materials which are essential to repair the Sulzer raw water pump,” he said.

Mr Dube said the Sulzer raw water pump failure adversely affects the pumping capacity and ultimate raw water delivery to the city at Criterion, Burnside.

“Daily delivery has been reduced by 48 mega litres per day. Currently, one pump-set has been running delivering about 56 mega litres. The city is pumping half capacity in terms of raw water delivery,” he said.

Mr Dube said residents will continue to face supply interruptions in all residential, industrial and Central Business District (CBD) areas.

He said the local authority is committed to addressing these infrastructure challenges through timely repairs to ensure a reliable water supply for its residents. — @nyeve14