BULAWAYO will continue singing the blues as the city’s supply dams have so far received paltry inflows despite the heavy downpours recorded since last week.
Report by Gamma Mudarikiri Own Correspondent
Statistics released by the Bulawayo City Council on Monday evening showed that dam levels had marginally improved to 43,37% compared to 37% before the rains began.
The city’s supply dams are holding 157 261 301 cubic metres against a total capacity of 362 631 700 cubic metres.
Insiza Mayfair is 73,6 % full, while Inyankuni, Lower Ncema, Umzingwane and Upper Ncema are 8,7%, 2,7%, 30,9%, 8,2% full respectively.
Council said residents must continue using the little available water sparingly as the city’s supply dams had not received significant inflows.
On Tuesday, the Meteorological Services Department reported that Bulawayo received 55mm of rainfall and parts of Matabeleland South received an average of 60mm, raising hopes of an improvement in water supply and possible lifting of the water-shedding regime in the city.
However, the local authority said the water-shedding regime would remain in force until dam levels had risen significantly.
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Council introduced a 96 hours per week water-shedding regime in July last year after two supply dams — Umzingwane and Upper Ncema — ran dry and were subsequently decommissioned.
Late last year, council also indicated that it was considering decommissioning two more dams.
Bulawayo is currently supplied by three dams — Insiza, Inyankuni and Lower Ncema.
The water crisis has been going on for years although government has dragged its feet on declaring Bulawayo a critical water shortage area to pave way for emergency funding to complete water projects in the city.
Water is now being pumped from Mtshabezi Dam built by government more than a decade ago.
But pumping is being done on a trial basis.
The project has a capacity of providing the city with 17 megalitres of water daily, but less than four megalitres are being pumped.
Despite an increase in the city’s population and, therefore, a growing demand for water, the last supply dam for Bulawayo was built in 1975 when the population was estimated at 263 000 compared to the current estimated figure of 1,5 million.
