EDITORIAL COMMENT: Let us conserve our water

Clean WaterIt seems this year the heavens are smiling on Bulawayo, a traditionally drought prone area. With a few weeks into the 2014/15 rainy season, Bulawayo supply dams hold enough water to cover the next three years.

This is good news for Bulawayo and its residents who have endured a permanent state of water rationing for decades.

Shortage of water has also seen a flight of companies from the city as some industrialists felt that they could not continue to operate in an environment where water supplies could not be guaranteed.

The irony of the water woes in Bulawayo is that while in other cities such as Harare there are water shortages, these are mainly manmade caused by human ineptitude on the part of city fathers and technocrats as raw water is plentiful while in Bulawayo there is a genuine shortage of raw water.

The city’s water shortages are historical. As far back as 1912, it was identified that shortage of water would pose a serious threat to the survival of Bulawayo, once the country’s industrial hub.

One of the long term solutions suggested to end the city’s water woes has been the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project which has been on the drawing board for more than a century.

News that the city’s supply dams are 65,86 percent full and could even fill up should the rains continue up to April should bring peace of mind to residents.

According to a story in yesterday’s Chronicle, the city’s six supply dams held 256,500,322 cubic metres of usable water as at the end of October compared to 175,128,213 cubic metres the same period last year.

However, it does not mean residents should think that the city’s water woes are over. Three-year water cover for a growing city, while welcome, is nothing to shout about.

Residents must keep their vigilance in conserving water. Yes, we expect the city to pass on to the residents the benefits of increasing water inflows into its dams by relaxing the water rationing regime, but residents still need to use the water wisely.

While this season the rains have been good so far, no-one can predict with certainty how the rains will fare the next rainy season.

Weather patterns are changing and droughts are becoming more prevalent due to the phenomenon known as global warming.

This means there might be drought in the coming next two rainy seasons. Bulawayo is particularly at risk because all its supply dams lie in the same catchment area of Umzingwane River.

Authorities should not be lulled into a false sense of security and abandon efforts to get a long-term solution to Bulawayo’s water supply problems.

The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project remains the only viable option to ensure the continued survival of Bulawayo.

Apart from encouraging residents from using water wisely, council must also ensure that it repairs its leaking pipes which are resulting in the loss of significant amounts of treated water.

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