‘No water for Bulawayo till Zesa fault resolved’

BULAWAYO has been hit by a serious water crisis, a development that has seen the city council suspending the 72-hour shedding programme and cutting water supplies in the entire city.

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) attributed the development to a power supply fault at the city’s Criterion Waterworks, which occurred last Thursday.

In a statement, Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said water will be unavailable in all city areas until the power supply is restored at Criterion Waterworks.

“The public is hereby informed of the suspension of the 72-hour shedding programme and closure of water supplies to all city areas. This is due to a Zesa power supply fault to Criterion that occurred on Thursday October 12 at 8pm,” he said.

“To protect the city’s supply reservoirs from collapsing as ZETDC is still working on rectifying the fault, water supplies to all city areas are closed till power supply is restored at Criterion waterworks and water treatment resumes. Bulawayo City Council wishes to apologise to its valued consumers for the inconvenience likely to be caused.”

With the city already grappling with one of the poorest rainy seasons, the city council had to decommission three out of its six council dams.

BCC has begun a process to expand critical water treatment and conveyance infrastructure in readiness to receive increased water supplies from the massive Lake Gwayi-Shangani, which will be a lasting solution to the city’s perennial water woes.

The expanded infrastructure will enhance the feeding of water from Magwegwe Reservoir into Criterion Water Treatment Works, which will enhance the distribution of the precious liquid to critical areas across the city.

Criterion Water Treatment Works is the nerve centre of the city’s water treatment and distribution.

The Second Republic is spearheading the construction of the 650 million cubic metres dam that was first mooted in 1912 but had failed to take off under previous successive administrations.

Financed with domestic resources from enhanced fiscal space, construction works are being done simultaneously with the laying of a 245KM pipeline linking Lake Gwayi-Shangani and Bulawayo.

Both projects are expected to create wider economic opportunities and spur increased development in the entire region.

Government has said it is committed to ensure timely project completion to guarantee reliable water supply to Bulawayo for the next 80 years while weaning off some of its supply dams in Matabeleland South to cater for developmental projects in the largely rural province.