Vusumuzi Dube and Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporters
THE City of Bulawayo has introduced a tight water shedding regime that will see residential areas going for 36 hours per week without water, as they try to implement a cocktail of measures to avert a water crisis in the city.
In a statement, the local authority’s senior public relations officer, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, said the move has been necessitated by owing to erratic pumping from Nyamandlovu Aquifer, Inyankuni and uMzingwane Booster stations.
Power surges resulting from intermittent power supply have worsened the problem.
“The distribution water reservoir levels in the city have been critical for the past three weeks, owing to erratic pumping from Nyamandlovu Aquifer, Inyankuni and uMzingwane Booster stations. This has been mainly due to pump system failures such as electric motors among other issues.
“Efforts to attend to the faults by our teams were stalled by the massive workers stay away which lasted for a week and this was also worsened by the serious shortage of fuel supplies which almost dried up during the same period,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She revealed that they were engaging the Zimbabwe National Water Authority and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company to restore the power supply at Nyamandlovu Aquifer and ease the water crisis.
“We anticipate that once this is finalised it will hopefully increase the boreholes pumping output to the City. Currently all the 24 upgraded boreholes are down due to power supply disruptions. Power has been restored at the uMzingwane and Inyankuni booster stations, but they are operating with only one booster pump in each station making it very difficult to supply adequate raw water to the city.
“The equipment and accessories, which were burnt-out by power surge, needed to restore the pumping systems to normalcy are taking longer than expected to buy as most spare parts are out of stock and available outside the country, in South Africa. Our procurement section has engaged the suppliers to speed the securing of needed spares, treating the matter with the urgency it deserves,” said the council spokesperson.
Mrs Mpofu said they were also not pumping to capacity from Ncema owing to leaks in the pipeline hence water supply shortfalls to both Tuli and Criterion raw water reservoirs.
According to the water shedding schedule, areas that fed from Criterion reservoir; Nkulumane, Nketa, Sizinda, Tshabalala, Bellevue, Newton West and West Somerton will experience water cuts on Monday from 7.30am and it will be restored Tuesday at 7.30pm.
For Emganwini, Pumula and Nketa 9 supplies would be cut on Wednesday at 7.30am and restored on Thursday 7.30pm.
In Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni, Gwabalanda and Maplanka, water would be cut on Monday at 7.30am and be restored on Tuesday at 7.30pm.
Areas that are fed from the Magwegwe reservoir such as Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Mpopoma, Lobengula, Mabutweni, Iminyela, Pelandaba and Matshobana will not have water from Wednesday 7.30am until Thursday 7.30pm.
In Lochview, Sunninghill, Marlands, Glencoe, Riverside, Waterford, Manningdale, Willsgrove, Buenavista and Douglasdale water would be cut at 7.30am on Thursdays and pumped at 7:30pm on Fridays.
Esigodini, Imbizo Barracks, Fortunesgate, Selbourne Park, Matsheumhlophe, Parklands, Kumalo, Suburbs, Mahatshula, Woodville, Kingsdale and Queenspark will have no water from Tuesday at 7.30am until Wednesday 7:30pm. These areas are fed from the Tuli reservoirs.
In Harrisvale, Jungle, Trenance, Richmond, Sauerstown, Neqi, water will also be cut at 7.30am on Wednesday and restored 7.30pm on Thursday.
Babourfields, Mzilikazi, Nguboyenja and Makokoba fed from the Riffle Range reservoir, Hillside South, South riding, Fourwinds, Hillside, Northend, Tegela, Romney Park, Paddonhurst, Sunnyside, Morningside, Rowena, Montrose, Southwold, Greenhill, Barham Green, Kenilworth, Ilanda and Burnside fed from the 6J and Hillside reservoir, Mbalabala Barracks and Mzinyathini irrigation scheme fed from Raw Water will have no water supplies from Mondays 7.30am until Tuesday at 7.30pm.
Industry, mines and Central Business Districts (CBD) are exempted from the water cuts.
“Water bowsers will be available at strategic points where water supply cannot reach for any reason within the schedule times. All institutions with storage water tanks should ensure that they fill in as a contingency measure all the time to cater for themselves during water shedding times.
“When the shedding prolongs resulting in emptying the tanks, BCC will ensure filling in with water bowsers as per request. Institutions are charged for bowsed water at $41 per five cubic metre in terms of council policy and residential consumers be allowed to collect water free of charge using containers,” said Mrs Mpofu.