Bulawayo residents endure long hours of water shedding

Pamela Shumba, Senior Reporter 

BULAWAYO residents yesterday had to endure longer hours of the re-introduced 48-hour water shedding programme after the Bulawayo City Council failed to restore supplies in some suburbs as advised on Thursday.

The city council on Thursday announced that it was re-introducing the 48-hour water shedding programme due to increased consumption and power challenges.

The local authority had said there would be a citywide shutdown on Friday with supplies being restored yesterday morning but supplies were not restored in some suburbs.

The council said the 48-hour weekly rotational schedule starts today. 

A snap survey conducted by Chronicle yesterday revealed that some suburbs started having water at about 3PM while some were still waiting for the council to restore supplies by 5PM.

Residents who spoke to Chronicle said while they understood the challenges faced by the local authority and the need to temporarily cut water supplies, it was important to stick to the schedule for purposes of planning and hygiene.

Ms Siziwe Dube from Mahatshula said the city council should always stick to its water shedding programme. 

“It’s not everyone who got the information on time. Some people missed the notice and have no water at all. Imagine going for more than three days with no water. 

“We’re in a hot season and it’s easy for diseases to break out if people have no water. The council should consider that when making its decisions. We understand the challenges they’re facing but they should also remember the repercussions of having no water for too long,” said Ms Dube.

Mr Farai Makamba from Emganwini said it was risky for residents to have no water for more than three days.

“The city council is exposing us to the danger of an outbreak of water-borne diseases. We expect them to stick to the advertised schedule so that we’re able to plan, store adequate water and be able to practice good hygiene.

“Some people have no water as we speak right now. It’s difficult to use the toilet because there is no water,” he said.

On Thursday, the city council said it was experiencing challenges with both raw and  clear water pumping to the Criterion Raw Water, Tuli Clear Water and Magwegwe Reservoirs. 

The local authority said Tuli and Criterion Reservoirs had been affected by reduced power load by Zesa, which affected pumping for the past two weeks at Ncema Water Treatment works, Ncema Pump stations and Fernhill Booster Station. 

The supply of water was also affected by a major leak on the Nyamandlovu pipeline which also feeds into Magwegwe Reservoir. 

Council said the growing average daily consumption of 150ML to 154ML per day versus production of 140ML to 145ML per day was depleting distribution reservoirs. @pamelashumba1

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