Water shedding set to ease as dam levels rise

Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu

LONG hours of water shedding that had become a daily reality for Bulawayo residents over recent months are expected to ease, following improved inflows into the city’s six supply dams after a good 2025/26 rainy season.

Bulawayo’s supply dams are all in Matabeleland South Province and as such, rainfall received in that province is critical to the city’s water security.

Prolonged dry spells in recent years had pushed dam levels to critically low levels, forcing the local authority to ration water.

However, the latest figures indicate a significant improvement. As of mid-April, Mtshabezi Dam was full while Lower Ncema Dam stood at 40 percent and Upper Ncema Dam was at 56 percent.

Insiza Dam was 62 percent full, Umzingwane Dam was 33 percent full while Inyankuni Dam was 25 percent full.
During a recent tour of the supply dams, Bulawayo deputy mayor Councillor Edwin Ndlovu said the improved inflows are expected to stabilise supply for the remainder of the year.

“This year, we were fortunate to receive good rains in the catchment areas where our dams are located. However, it is important to understand that water delivery to residents involves several processes, starting with the pumping of raw water,” he said.

“Our pumping capacity must be reliable and supported by a steady electricity supply to ensure that we draw the required mega litres of water daily. The process has to be uninterrupted for residents to enjoy consistent water supply.”

Clr Ndlovu said the council’s Department of Water and Sanitation has indicated that the city’s supply dams have adequate water to support improved supply although operational challenges remain.

“We have adequate water in our dams but pumping can still be affected by load shedding and infrastructure issues such as burst pipes. That said, we are not anticipating prolonged water shedding following the good rainy season,” he said.

The council’s director of Water and Sanitation Engineer Kwanele Sibanda said the improved inflows are a positive development for the city.

“We abstract water from Upper Ncema and feed it into Lower Ncema before pumping it to treatment plants. When Lower Ncema levels drop, we release water from Upper Ncema to replenish it. Lower Ncema is our smallest dam, with a capacity of 18 million cubic metres,” she said.

Eng Sibanda said the city is drawing about 30 megalitres of water a day from Umzingwane Dam through its four abstraction points, while Insiza Dam, with six abstraction points, supplies even greater volumes.

“As of mid-April, Upper Ncema was at 56 percent capacity, Mtshabezi at 100 percent while the other dams also recorded improved inflows. We are now able to abstract 30 megalitres of water from Umzingwane Dam’s four abstraction points while Insiza Dam has six abstraction points and gives the city more mega litres of raw water,” she said.

The council is pushing for the construction of the proposed Glassblock Dam, a US$98 million project expected to significantly boost supply capacity.

The dam, to be built in the Upper Umzingwane catchment area at the confluence of Gwanda, Umzingwane and Filabusi districts, is seen as a medium-term solution to the city’s perennial water challenges.

Construction, to be undertaken by JR Goddard Contracting, is expected to take about three years to complete.

The permanent solution to Bulawayo’s water shortages is the completion of works on the Lake Gwayi-Shangani and the pipeline from the dam to the city.