US$76 000 pump boosts Gweru water supplies

GWERU City Council has increased its water pumping capacity to 46 megalitres per day after the local authority installed a new motor pump worth US$76 000 at its Gwenhoro water treatment plant, a development that is expected to reduce water rationing.

In an interview, Gweru Mayor Councillor Martin Chivhoko said pumping has increased from 37 megalitres to around 46 megalitres due to the new electric motor.

“As soon as a new transformer is successfully installed, the water situation is set to further improve as plans are already underway to install three new high lift water pumps at Gwenhoro Dam.

We have three brand new high lift water pumps which will come on line and add 18 megalitres to bring the total to around 63 megalitres,” he said.

“What it means is that some areas will have water everyday and the rationing days will be reduced. Residents will have water not less than five days per week.”

Clr Chivhoko said they are in the process of installing the transformer.

“The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company has started the installation works and they are not yet through. Hopefully by the first week of January they would have finished,” he said.

Of late, Gweru had been hit by a serious water shortage, which forced residents to resort to unsafe water sources exposing them to the risk of contracting water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

In 2018, the city recorded a cholera outbreak that saw about 11 residents succumbing to the disease.

Residents in low-lying suburbs such as Mkoba 4, 6 and 4 are the most affected as they are forced to go for weeks without water.

Those in high areas such as Mkoba 15, 18 and 19 have gone for several months with dry taps.

Residents are now relying on the few boreholes dotted around the in the city.

It is now a common sight to see residents as late as midnight fetching water from boreholes risking being mugged by robbers.

Gweru City Council attributed the water crisis to a suppressed water pumping capacity from Gwenhoro and Whitewaters dams.

Intermittent power cuts also affect the abstraction, pumping, treatment and distribution of water to residents and industry.

Gweru City Council attributed the prevailing water woes to the ageing water reticulation infrastructure.

Obsolete water infrastructure and a ballooning population among other factors have been cited as reasons behind the city’s water problems.

In March, President Mnangagwa urged local authorities to plan ahead of population growth by coming up with proper service delivery projections that will ensure that service delivery is not affected.

Giving an example of the City of Gweru which is using an infrastructure that was put in place around the 1950s with a population of about 300 000 people, which has since increased to about 1,2 million, President Mnangagwa said if there was proper development planning — the council would not be failing to provide basic social amenities such as water.