BULAWAYO – The Bulawayo City Council has extended its water rationing schedule from 96 hours to 120 hours a week as the city grapples with a worsening water crisis linked to a host of factors including the decommissioning of Umzingwane Dam.
The tough measure comes as water levels in the city’s dams have dipped below 43 percent.
Mayor David Coltart announced Thursday they were now moving to a 120 hours water rationing schedule to try and manage the situation as the threat of an El Nino-induced drought also looms.
Only the Central Business District and the industrial areas have been spared the tough measures.
“The City of Bulawayo at its Special Council meeting held on Thursday, December 14, 2023, resolved to introduce the 120-hour water shedding programme from Thursday, December 14, 2023,” the local authority said in a statement.
“The interruption of water supplies will be implemented throughout the city, with the exception of the industry and Central Business District (CBD) areas.”
Coltart has said the city’s water crisis can be eased by increasing pumping and the capacity of pipelines from Mtshabezi Dam and Insiza Mayfair Dam which are 74 percent and 59 percent full respectively.
“Although we have a reasonable amount of water in Insiza and Mtshabezi dams we urgently need to duplicate the pipelines from those dams so that we can use more of the water they hold. This is our immediate short term priority,” he said.
