Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube and Yolanda Mlilo, Sunday News Reporters
BULAWAYO residents are set to experience a worsening water crisis after the city council announced plans to decommission two of its six supply dams starting this week, due to deteriorating water levels.
The decommissioning will leave the city relying on three supply dams and the Nyamandlovu Aquifer after Umzingwane Dam was decommissioned last year, a situation that may force it to adopt a more stringent 144-hour-water-shedding schedule with fears that those on high ground may not be able to receive water at all.
The local authority started emptying Upper Ncema into Lower Ncema at the beginning of this month to combine supplies from both dams for onward pumping to the city.
According to the latest council report, the local authority will decommission both Upper and Lower Ncema this month, within 10 days of each other.
Upper Ncema will be the first to be decommissioned on Tuesday followed by Lower Ncema on September 27.
“Umzingwane Dam was used to convey water from Mtshabezi Dam to Ncema Water Treatment Plant and minimal pumping occurred during the reporting period due to low water levels. Lower Ncema Dam’s water levels had significantly decreased, impacting its ability to meet the city’s water demands.
“To mitigate this and ensure a sustainable water supply, the Upper Ncema Dam gates had been opened on May 18th to replenish Lower Ncema. This measure was crucial to maintain the current 120-hour water shedding and support vital services. Upper Ncema Dam had been closed on June 12, 2024 after opening for two weeks to supplement Lower Ncema. Currently, the dam is at 8.94 percent making it impossible to top up Lower Ncema,” reads the report.
Explaining the reason behind the emptying of Upper Ncema, the local authority’s corporate communications manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the dam is usually used as a “reservoir of last resort” where while Upper Ncema typically serves as a backup water source, the below-average rainfall in the 2023/2024 season has necessitated its earlier utilisation.
“By transferring the remaining water to Lower Ncema, we can ensure its continued availability for treatment and distribution. Lower Ncema serves as our primary source for water treatment, there is no direct pipeline connecting Upper Ncema to the Ncema Water Treatment Plant, this transfer allows us to access the stored water even with decommissioning.
“The exact decommissioning date depends on the water transfer rate and the time it takes for Upper Ncema to reach dead-water levels. We are currently in the second week of the transfer process. Once this is complete and Upper Ncema reaches its minimum operational level, decommissioning will occur. This water transfer is a proactive measure to ensure a consistent water supply for the city,” said Mrs Mpofu.
With the prevailing situation, the city has also had to suspend its 120-hour water shedding schedule to an as-and-when-available schedule to allow the replenishing of its reservoirs, with the Director of Water and Sanitation, Engineer Sikhumbuzo Ncube hinting that the city could soon have to increase their water-shedding schedule to 144 hours a week.
“In the ensuing debate, the Director of Water and Sanitation highlighted that the water situation in the supply dams was not pleasing. He said traditionally, council reviewed its water-shedding programme in August each year because of the hot weather conditions. However, the current situation in the dams was a cause for concern and the council could be forced to resort to longer periods of shedding.
“He acknowledged that residents were struggling with the 120-hour shedding programme and informed the Committee that the water levels were currently at 29 percent, which might lead council to resort to a 144-hour shedding period. Upper and Lower dams would be decommissioned in September,” reads the report.
Eng Ncube further highlighted that there was a 20.43 percent decrease in usable water compared to the same period in 2023, where in August 2023 the city had introduced a 72-hour water shedding schedule, which was increased to 120-hour schedule in November.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu explained that the water situation was now beyond council’s control.
He felt that if the 144-hour water-shedding schedule was implemented, the areas that were already not receiving water would certainly suffer.
He acknowledged that high-lying areas did not receive water at all hence the introduction of water bowsers.
He noted that water currently supplied to industries was potable water, which should be redirected for domestic use.
Clr Ndlovu said it was high time the council considered other alternatives like purifying water from the Khami Dam and also the importance of exploring the possibility of using aquifers as an alternative water source.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo residents have called on the local authority to re-look at their billing system, saying it did not make sense that while the local authority was implementing a 120 hours per week water shedding programme, they kept on getting high bills.
A local residents’ representative organisation, the Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights has since written to the local authority saying there was a need for BCC to abolish estimated bills and use an actual billing system.
“BCC is relying on estimated bills and even during the water crisis where the local authority is implementing a 120 hours per week water shedding programme- though practically on the ground some sections of the city get water once or twice a month for less than a day in each instance- the bills are always increasing. Estimated bills over actual bills especially during the water shortage times.
“The more one pays their bill, the more erroneous and absurdly high the bill is estimated and this is creating an impression that those who are faithful in paying their bills are ‘being targeted’ and ‘punished’ by council because it is known they will pay anyway,” reads part of the communique to council.
They further implored that during water crisis periods, BCC should adjust the bills downwards considering that there is information that due to airlock caused by non-availability of water, trapped air in the system tend to cause meters to keep running even without water.
Bongani Ndlovu