WATCH: 5-day water rationing schedule for Bulawayo

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has resolved to introduce a new water-shedding schedule, which will result in residents going for 120 hours without water.

The central business district and industrial area will however, be exempt from the water rationing.

A special council meeting held yesterday resolved to extend water shedding hours to conserve the little water left in the city’s supply dams.

In a media briefing after the closed-door meeting, Bulawayo mayor Clr David Coltart said councillors agreed to further tighten the water rationing in order to manage the available water.

He said the city is now relying on two of its supply dams, Insiza and Mtshabezi which are however, failing to pump enough water due to ageing infrastructure.

The city’s supply dams are at 43,59 percent full and the water is expected to last for 12 months.

Bulawayo’s supply dams are Mtshabezi, Upper Ncema, Lower Ncema, Insiza and Mzingwane but some of the dams received insignificant inflows during the past rainy seasons due to climate change-induced drought.

Clr Coltart said the water situation in Bulawayo is further worsened by power outages.

“Due to both water shortages and power outages, our main reservoirs, Tuli and Criterion are now critically low,” he said.

Clr Coltart said Criterion was the buffer facility which when full enables council to supply the city even during power cuts.

He said during the meeting, the city’s engineering department told the full council of the sad state of affairs.

“We understand that this is going to cause immense hardship to our residents, particularly those in the low-density areas. After a debate this afternoon, the council unanimously agreed that we have no option but to extend the water shedding to 120 hours,” he said.

Clr Coltart said the new water shedding schedule is meant to give council engineers time to replenish, particularly the Criterion reservoir so that the supplies are improved during the festive season.

“After the festive season, we might probably be forced to extend water shedding hours due to predicted low rainfall this rainy season,” he said.

Clr Coltart said the short-to-medium-term solution to the prevailing water crisis in the city was the rehabilitation of the 22 boreholes at the Nyamandlovu Aquifer which will bring in an additional 15 megalitres of water a day.

“The water situation in the city affects everyone, it has devastating consequences and nine days ago the future water supplies committee met and resolved that the city be declared a water shortage area. This is now a new position but I am confident that the Government will respond urgently,” he said.

Clr Coltart said last week he had a very fruitful meeting with Local Government and Public Works Minister Winston Chitando who expressed concern over the city ‘s water shortages.

He said residents must prepare for the water shedding programme and take necessary measures to conserve water as the local authority continues to monitor the situation.

“It is recommended that residents stay informed through official channels such as the City of Bulawayo’s website, social media platforms, or local news outlets for any further updates or changes to the water shedding programme. The water-shedding programme is subject to change if the raw water reservoir level improves or deteriorates,” he said.

Clr Coltart said efforts are being made to intensify the resuscitation of existing boreholes and water kiosks including reactivating the water crisis committee with the first meeting set before year-end.