BULAWAYO – The Bulawayo City Council has suspended its weekly 72-hour water cuts, despite its dams not receiving any major inflows.
The parched city announced the water rationing schedule in February this year, after a poor rainfall season.
Offering no reasons for lifting the water cuts, the city said in a notice on Tuesday: “The City of Bulawayo would like to advise consumers that it has temporarily suspended the water shedding programme that was introduced in February 2019.
“The suspension is subject to the sustenance of a consumption level of 125 megalitres per day. The current consumption levels are averaging 150 megalitres per day and need to be brought down to the desired average.”
On average, the council says a household in a high-density suburb should maintain a daily consumption of 450 litres of water, which rises to 650 litres for the low-density neighbourhoods because many properties have cottages. Those in flats are expected to contain their consumption to 400 litres daily.
The local authority urged its 400,000 residents “to continue conserving water and adhering to the approved daily water allocations,” ominously warning that “excessive use of potable water may result in the re-introduction of water shedding.”
The city’s major water supply dams are just over 50 percent full as drought stalks the southern part of the country.
Bulawayo hosts the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair from April 23 to 27, with thousands of visitors expected in the city. The decision by the Bulawayo council could be timed to avoid disruptions to the trade exhibition.
