Chronicle Editor
Michelle Moyo, moyomichelle19gmail.com
EARLY on Saturdays, the morning breeze in Bulawayo’s western suburbs is often saturated by the scent of freshly washed clothes hung out to dry as many do the week’s laundry.
However, in recent weeks, the norm has changed to scores queuing for water at community boreholes and other water sources as the stench of urine engulfs the atmosphere.
Lactating mothers are seen with babies strapped to their backs while carrying buckets filled with water on their heads as the water crisis in Bulawayo worsens.
The city is facing its worst water crisis in the past 10 years.
This comes as the Government and the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) are already looking for urgent solutions to this crisis, amid indications that residents might endure the stringent water shedding schedule right throughout the year.
An analysis of the dam levels over the past 10 years at the end of the rainy season, reveals that the city is possibly headed for its worst crisis.
According to the local authority, as of last Friday the city’s supply dams were 42,39 percent full, the previous week they stood at 42,78 percent full.
In a maximum dam levels Trend at the End of Each Rain Season, dam levels have generally been on a downward trend since 2015, with the lowest having been in 2020, where the city’s dams stood at 35,27 percent by the end of the rainy season.
For lactating mothers, the situation is dire as infants need to be kept in clean homes, with clean cutlery and hygienic handling of food to mitigate against contracting various diseases.
The water shortages exacerbate existing difficulties during the breastfeeding period.
Those who use breast pumps to express milk for their babies need running water to ensure that the pumps are clean and sterile.
Clean water is also needed for babies on infant formula to guard against infection.
The ongoing water shortage is a threat to the health of babies whose mothers are also adversely affected.
In Old Pumula suburb, a lactating mother with a baby strapped to her back carried 40 litres of water from a far off borehole.
Her face told a story of struggle.
“I gave birth to my child a month ago and for almost three weeks, we haven’t had any water. I have to bath my child, wash clothes every day and make sure our house is clean.
‘’I’m worried about our hygiene and providing safe water for use in our household,” said Ms Babongile Ndlovu, a new mother from Old Pumula suburb.
“Council should at least reconsider their decision on water rationing and give us water twice per week.”
Another lactating mother who spoke on condition of anonymity said the water shortages have become a challenge to womanhood as women do all the household chores, take care of the children and ensure good hygiene practices in the home.
“Inadequate access to clean water jeopardises the health of lactating mothers. Water scarcity affects their ability to maintain proper hygiene, leading to an increased risk of infections and disease outbreak. Water scarcity has hindered our ability to stay hydrated, affecting milk production,’’ she said.
Limited water availability may force mothers to compromise on food safety, potentially exposing their infants to contaminated food.
If water scarcity affects milk production due to poor hydration, it impacts the overall health and development of babies. Contaminated water used for formula preparation can lead to diarrhoea and other health issues in infants.
While resting under the shade of a tree after a long walk in search of water, another lactating mother said the water shortages have forced her to abandon her work so she could look for borehole water.
Mrs Talent Nkomo from Cowdray Park suburb who recently gave birth said fetching water from distant sources is straining, especially for lactating mothers recovering from childbirth.
“Carrying heavy containers of water has strained our bodies and affects our overall well-being. I have been using borehole water with purification tablets to guard against water-borne diseases,” said Mrs Nkomo.
Ms Monalisa Maveza from Pumula South suburb said they have not had water for more than three weeks.
The mother of two young children said it has become increasingly difficult to take care of her children as the boreholes around her area are not functioning and bowsers are no longer being dispatched to give them water.
“The council needs to intervene so that we get water once per week at least. They also need to repair the boreholes and bring bowsers so that we can have access to water to avoid sickness,’’ said Ms Maveza.
In a recent interview, the local authority’s corporate communications officer, Miss Bongiwe Ngwenya, revealed that according to their projections, by the end of the rainy season the city’s dams would be 40,27 percent full.
“The City uses the 21 month management tool rule as an early warning framework. The rule states that at the end of the rainy season in April each year, there should be enough water in the dams to last 21 months through a 10 percent low inflow year to the beginning of the next rainy season (April 1996 Future Water Supplies).
The 2023/2024 season has been projected, assuming no further inflows in the dam to be at 40,27 percent by the end of April 2024.
“Currently, the City has one of the dams decommissioned (Mzingwane dam on November 18, 2023) and therefore relies on the other five dams for water supplies.
“Drought related water shortages have prevailed over the years, leading to a perpetual water rationing regime in the city and seasonal varying shedding regimes varying from 24hours/week to the extreme 144 hours /week.
Presently, the City is supplying water under a 120 hour shedding programme,” said Miss Ngwenya.
The council spokesperson, revealed that Lower Ncema is projected to be decommissioned on July 6, while Upper Ncema is projected to be decommissioned on September 1.
Meanwhile, the Government has given a 20-member Bulawayo Water Technical Committee the task to expedite the evaluation process of the Glass Block dam in order to facilitate the formal granting of approvals for the complimentary investment to curb the City’s woes.
This comes as council has set a target of April, to come up with both the engineering and financial feasibility studies of the project, which they say will be funded by private players. Glass Block Dam- which has been taunted as one of the city’s medium term solutions- is a proposed reservoir on the Umzingwane River, with a carrying capacity of 14 million cubic metres.
The construction works of the Glass Block Dam, which includes a 41km pipeline connecting to the Lower Ncema Dam, would take 30 months to complete.
The local authority has intensified plans to construct the US$100 million water supply dam in Insiza District in Matabeleland South as part of its short-to-medium-term solution to address the perennial water crisis.
Speaking soon after a meeting of the 20-member Bulawayo Water Technical Committee in Bulawayo last Wednesday, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka, said the technical committee should expedite the evaluation process of the dam.
“The City of Bulawayo presented a proposal for the private sector investment in a dam and we said this technical team ought to expedite the evaluation process, so that the approvals can be granted formerly for that complementary investment,” said Dr Masuka.
The Government is further expected to secure funds of up to US$15 million, required to address the Bulawayo water situation, while the contract to divert a portion of the Mtshabezi pipeline is forging ahead all in an effort to mitigate the water situation.
Bulawayo Mayor, Councillor David Coltart, has said the dam was one of the solutions which the local authority can be looking at progressing, while the Government also works on other long-term solutions like the Lake Gwayi-Shangani and pipeline. — @Lo7246Lovelyn
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter