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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter

SOME suburbs in Bulawayo may go a further two days without water outside the four days per week water shedding schedule due to an electric fault.

In a statement yesterday, Bulawayo City Council Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said areas supplied by the Criterion and Magwegwe reservoirs were most likely going to go dry between yesterday and today, while ZETDC was attending to the faults. 

“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise members of the public that there will be an emergency interruption of water supplies to areas supplied by the Magwegwe and Criterion reservoirs outside normal water shedding programme from Thursday, December 5, 2019 to 6 December 2019,” said the Town Clerk.

Mr Dube said the fault has affected pumping and treatment works at the reservoirs and called on residents to conserve the water that they had. 

“The interruption is due to a ZETDC fault along the power line supplying the Criterion Waterworks that occurred on Wednesday 4 December 2019 and is still undergoing repair. The fault has affected water treatment and pumping thus affecting all areas that are due for water supplies restoration. Residents are urged to conserve water that they might be holding to see them through the interruption period,” he said. 

“Areas that are affected include Emganwini, Pumula, Nketa 9, Nkulumane, Nketa, Sizinda, Tshabalala, Bellevue, Newton West, West Somerton, Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni, Gwabalanda, Maplanka, Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Mpopoma, Lobengula, Mabutweni, Iminyela, Pelandaba and Matshobane. Bulawayo City Council wishes to apologise to its valued customers for the inconvenience likely to be caused,” said Mr Dube. 

Bulawayo ratepayers are already enduring 96 hours of water shedding weekly, staggered into two sessions as water levels in the city’s supply dams have drastically gone down to about 36 percent of their combined capacity.

Already Upper Ncema and Umzingwane Dams have been decommissioned leaving the city relying on four dams; Insiza, Mtshabezi, Lower Ncema and Inyankuni. — @andile_tshuma