Zimbabwe: Bulawayo Tightens Water Rationing As Supplies Dwindle

BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has issued a warning to residents to conserve water, as dam levels are anticipated to drop below the 21-month supply threshold if conservation measures are not followed.

The 21-month rule requires that water reserves exceed 21 months to be deemed sufficient. In response, BCC has implemented a stricter water rationing programme and is imposing significant fines on those who do not comply with the new regulations.

In response to the dwindling water reserves, BCC has tightened its water rationing measures.

High-density suburb residents are now limited to 350 litres per day, reduced from 450 litres, while those in low-density areas are restricted to 550 litres, down from 650 litres.

The new rationing also affects industries and farmers.

The city’s water crisis is exacerbated by the ongoing 120-hour weekly water-shedding programme, introduced last December.

Dam levels have decreased to 33 percent, compared to 54 percent during the same time last year, highlighting the severity of the situation.

The council warns that without significant rainfall in the coming season, the situation could become dire.

According to the latest council minutes, Bulawayo dams are 33 percent full, a 21 percent decline compared to the same period last year, threatening the city’s ability to supply water.

“The available water resources in the dams had continued to decline and were projected to be insufficient to provide an adequate continuous supply of water in the city.

“Although water shedding had its own negative impacts including a negative impact on public health and social equity, it presently remained a practical conservation strategy for the city,” reads the minutes.

The city, which is grappling with a serious water crisis, introduced a 120-hour shedding programme last year.

“Given the reduced inflows received during the 2023/24 rainy season, the city was currently under a 120-hour shedding programme that was introduced in December 2023. The dams were currently at an average of 33 percent compared to 54 percent during the same period last year when the city was on a daily restoration shedding,” read council minutes.

The local authority said water rationing has enabled it to manage water demand in line with the city’s abstraction, pumping and treatment capacities.

According to BCC, the city water consumption demand now stands at 106ML/day against 173ML/day.

In an interview yesterday, BCC Acting Town Clerk Dr Edwin Mzingwane emphasized the urgent need for water conservation, especially with summer heat likely to increase evaporation and water demand.

The council plans to decommission the Lower Ncema Dam, which will further strain water resources.

“We expect residents to conserve water and we appreciate that in summer it is hotter which increases the water demand, but even if it is that way we need to conserve water. The evaporation of water in the dams or water reservoirs has also increased tremendously,” said Dr Mzingwane.

“When we last checked, we only had 36 percent of water in all our dams. If we do not have good rains in the coming season we may be in serious trouble. So residents have to brace themselves for tough times”

“We rather have little water that we share sparingly than not to have no water at all. So that is the intention of the whole exercise. Once we decommission Lower Ncema Dam in particular it is going to be very difficult to abstract raw water into our treatment works,” he said.

Dr Mzingwane said with the advice from the city’s engineers the local authority is likely to further review the prevailing 120-hour weekly water shedding programme.

“That will be a last resort and the engineers are going to inform us. They are monitoring the situation and coming up with the best strategies because these are our frontline soldiers as far as water provision is concerned,” he said.

“They are giving us the best advice on what is the best method going forward. It’s not a road that we have travelled and it takes a bit of learning and we cannot say this will work or will not work, but I believe this is the best way.”

Dr Mzingwane said the council also faces challenges with ageing infrastructure, which has led to increased water loss due to pipe bursts

“The issue of non-revenue water and by that we mean water that is not accounted for is a difficult one. We have old infrastructure when we close taps and there is no water flowing, air accumulates and that air has to go somewhere when water is finally restored,” he said.

Bulawayo dams received insignificant flows in the 2023/24 rainy season and the BCC is now pinning its hopes on La Nina season expected this coming year.

Dr Mzingwane noted that securing funding for infrastructure improvements remains difficult due to high interest rates.

“Capital funding has not been easy to come by partly because interest rates are prohibitive. Pipes have a lifespan of 25 years and for us to replace the pipes and get true value from the pipes, we will need money that we will pay over a lengthy period,” he said.

BCC is hopeful that the upcoming La Niña season will bring much-needed relief, but for now, residents are urged to use water sparingly and brace for continued shortages.

By The Herald.