‘There is enough water for early summer cropping’

Mangaliso Lawrence Kabulika

THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) has assured farmers that the country’s dams have sufficient water to support the current winter cropping activities and meet the requirements for the early summer crops as well.

In an interview with The Herald, ZINWA’s corporate communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said as at August 21, 2023, the national dam level average stood at 85, 3 percent, which is 19 percent higher than the 66 percent national dam level average expected at this time of the year.

Mrs Munyonga said between June and July there was an increase in raw water withdrawals from dams.

“A total of 150,859 mega litres of water have been used from the major dams in July compared to the 140,038 mega litres recorded in June 2023. The increased uptake of water is consistent with the improvement in the hectrage planted for the winter season,” she said.

ZINWA also indicated that they had put in place mechanisms to assess and monitor the availability of water for irrigation purposes.

“The authority has a robust monitoring mechanism in place, which allows it to have up to date information on water usage from the dams. This includes stationing water bailiffs at major dams to manage and control water releases for irrigating farmers. This is in addition to the legal requirement that all raw water users sign water abstraction agreements with ZINWA, which allows for the efficient and sustainable allocation of irrigation water. The agreements also allow ZINWA to project water demand and to ensure that holders adhere to their water allocations,” observed Mrs Munyonga.

In relation to the above, Mrs Munyonga said: “The use of raw water in Zimbabwe is governed by the Water Act and its subsidiary Statutory Instruments. The Act, in particular, provides for the need for raw water users to enter into water abstraction agreements with ZINWA. To enforce these provisions, at the beginning of each water year, water users renew their water abstraction agreements. ZINWA also carries out physical monitoring along river channels to detect any illegal abstraction of water,” added Mrs Munyonga.

Agriculture remains the country’s major user of water accounting for 70 percent of water usage in Zimbabwe.

“Due to the past rainy season’s good inflows and the country’s vast dam network has adequate water for irrigation, which stocks will certainly be carried over to the next season,” said Mrs Munyonga.

In light of the above, Mrs Munyonga said there were no regions or areas currently facing irrigation water challenges.

“The Government through ZINWA intends to have at least 350 000 hectares of land under irrigation by 2025 and in pursuit of this target, a programme of accelerated dam construction is in progress. Construction of 12 high impact dams is progressing with Marovanyati and Chivhu Dams already completed and commissioned,” she said.