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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has recommissioned three supply dams that were decommissioned last year and says it will soon start to progressively ease water shedding.

The council decommissioned Umzingwane Dam in December 2019 before decommissioning Lower and Upper Ncema dams last year.

The decommissioning of the three dams saw council imposing a strict water shedding as part of measures to conserve water in the remaining supply dams.

In a statement, acting Town Clerk Mrs Sikhangele Zhou said despite recommissioning of the three dams, the council will continue to restrict water use as the city’s dam levels are still very low.

“The three supply dams previously decommissioned have been recommissioned. However, water supply to residents is still constrained as we want to conserve water,” said Mrs Zhou.

Since the start of the 2020/21 rain season in October the city’s dams have received 21 percent inflows with the dam levels rising to 43 percent.

The dam levels are still below 60 percent hence the need to continue taking measures to conserve the water.

Meanwhile, Mrs Zhou said the faulty valves at Ncema and Fernhill Pump Stations have been replaced and are being tested.

“Council is working flat out with the contractor to ensure that pumps are fully operational as soon as possible. The water shedding schedule will be reviewed at the end of January 2021,” said Mrs Zhou.

She said there was a burst on the main line supplying Criterion Waterworks with raw water from Ncema, Esigodini.

Mrs Zhou said as a result council was unable to pump water to Criterion thereby affecting supplies to residential areas fed by the Criterion Water Works.

“The stoppage in treatment affects the city’s reservoirs that are fed from Criterion Water Works. BCC would like to advise that all areas that benefit from those reservoirs (Criterion, Magwegwe, Hillside and Rifle Range) will remain closed for water supplies till repairs have been completed and the affected reservoirs raised to satisfactory levels,” she said. -@nqotshili