Masvingo starts water cuts

Walter Mswazie in Masvingo
RESIDENTS in Masvingo should brace for massive water rationing as the water levels in the main supply dam, Lake Mutirikwi have dropped to 10 percent while water from the 12 boreholes in the city no longer meet World Health Organisation (WHO)standards, an official has said.

The situation is so dire that some residential areas are now going for two days without water supplies. City Mayor Councillor Hubert Fidze has appealed to residents to use water sparingly saying the crisis was getting worse. He said there was also a challenge in new areas where there were no boreholes.

Councillor Fidze, however, praised the Zimbabwe National Water Authority for reducing the pumping rate at sugar cane estates in the Lowveld due to the ensuing decreasing levels from 10,1 cubic meters per second to 5,0 cubic meters per second to save the situation. The optimum pumping rate is 32 cubic meters per second.

“The water level in Lake Mutirikwi has decreased to less than 10 percent and that is bad news. If we don’t receive rains and get meaningful inflow this month, we may be plunged into a serious crisis. We will introduce stringent measures to manage the situation and one of them is water rationing,” said Clr Fidze.

“Another challenge we have is that the 12 boreholes drilled at the height of the 1992 drought need to be attended to. The water from the boreholes is no longer clean and no longer meet WHO standards. We are supposed to flash the boreholes first.”

According to the latest full council minutes, council has also reduced the amount of water supplied to all residential areas and industry.

The low density areas will be allocated 40 cubic meters (40 000 litres) per month, medium density areas 30 (30 000 litres, high density areas 25 cubic meters(25 000 litres).

Army establishments, police stations and prisons, schools, colleges and other institutions have been ordered to reduce their usage by 20 percent with immediate effect. Apart from Masvingo City, Lake Mutirikwi supply sugar estates, comprising Hippo Valley, Triangle and Mkwasine in Chiredzi.