The Bulawayo City Council has advised residents to use water sparingly because supply dams were running out of the resource.
Town clerk Middleton Nyoni on Monday said the region had received below normal rainfall, resulting in all the city’s five supply dams receiving little inflows.
He said the tight water rationing scheme for this year would remain in force.
“Consumers are kindly reminded the 2012 water rationing scheme for domestic consumers is still in force with high-density suburbs set to receive 350 litres per day and medium and low-density suburbs set to receive 400 litres of water per day,” he said.
Bulawayo consumes an average of 145 500 cubic metres a day, which is above the 120 000 cubic metres per day council could provide under the circumstances.
The city has been battling perennial water shortages for years owing to inadequate investment into future water supplies by the government.
A medium-term project to address shortages through a pipeline from Mtshabezi dam may only be completed during the second half of the year.
