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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
MASVINGO City Council is planning to install an emergency water pump at its main supply dam, Lake Mutirikwi at a cost of about $1,5 million. The municipality is also planning to rehabilitate seven boreholes sunk during the 1992 drought. The water level at the lake has decreased to 20 percent of capacity, a development that has forced its custodians, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, to reduce supplies to sugar estates in Chiredzi from 10 cubic metres per second to five cubic metres per second.

Masvingo city’s chief engineer Tawanda Gozo said the emergency pump will help them to continue accessing water in the event that the dam level drops further.

“We are planning to install an emergency water pump at an estimated cost of about $1,5 million at the dam which will draw water from underneath in case the water levels continue to drop.

“The water levels have dropped to about 20 percent from about 23 percent at the beginning of February and we have to put in place a plan to avert a crisis. We are also going to rehabilitate seven boreholes drilled in the early 1990s at the height of the drought,” said Gozo.

He urged residents to preserve water and warned them against using hosepipes which he said attracts a penalty from the local authority.

“While we have put the water situation under surveillance, we urge our residents to use water wisely given the critical levels in our main supply dam. We expect them not to use hosepipes in watering their gardens and we have put a punitive penalty of $500,” he said.

Zimbabwe received erratic rains in the past rainy season. This led to food shortages as crops in most of the country’s provinces were a write –off. The government has been importing grain and President Mugabe has assured the nation that no one will starve.