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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
IMINYELA suburb residents have said their tap water is “contaminated”, a claim that the Bulawayo City Council has said it is investigating.

Residents who spoke to Chronicle said they have had the problem for over a fortnight and had since reported the matter to the local authority.

Some residents said the poor water quality had resulted in a diarrhoea outbreak in the area.

In a statement, Bulawayo City Council senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said council had received the reports and was looking into the matter.

“The City of Bulawayo has received the reports from the residents on their concerns about the quality of water. Our teams are currently investigating,” said Mrs Mpofu.

Ms Promise Dube (70) said she fears for her life as she was not sure about the health consequences of using the dirty water.

“We have been having stomach aches and there has been a bout of diarrhoea in the area. We all suspect that it has to do with the water quality. We just wish that BCC could act faster,” she said.

Another Iminyela resident, Mrs Laudah Mlawuzi said the water quality was so bad that it did not improve even after boiling.

She said the water quality was the worst since she started living in Bulawayo in 1974.

“I started staying in this city in 1974 and since then I have not seen something like that. Even in the drought of 1992, we did not see this. Even in 2008, we never experienced this. We just hope that council will act fast about this matter. Stinking water coming out of a drinking tap! It is not acceptable,” she said.

Mrs Abigail Makovere said she has to keep her windows closed all day to avoid the stench emanating from human waste flowing nearby.

“Raw sewage flows into our homes. When the sewage starts flowing it smells and there are a lot of flies. Then children use that water to play house. It’s bad,” said Mrs Makovere.

Mr Kenneth Nyoni (52) said:

“As you can see, I am confined to a wheelchair. It has been two weeks now, this is a first for Bulawayo. Water coming out of the tap is green and has particles. It is not only undrinkable; you cannot even use it to bath or for any other purpose. We have made numerous trips to report the matter to council, but they are all shifting goal posts and telling us to report to different departments each time we go to report,” said Mr Nyoni.

He said due to his physical challenge, he could not go to other suburbs to look for clean water.

Mr Nyoni showed the news crew the water which he said had been fetched from the tap and it had a greenish colour with brown particles. The water had a strong stench that smelled like a blocked toilet.

The news crew however, could not verify that indeed the water had come out of a tap as there was no water at his home due to the six-day water shedding regime.

Ms Nosizi Moyo (60) said it has been weeks since she accessed clean water from her Iminyela suburb home.

“We have not known clean water for weeks. The last time we had water, it still smelled. You cannot drink that water,” she said.

Ward 13 Councillor Frank Javangwe could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press, but residents said he had visited the affected area. — @andile_tshuma