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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
VICTORIA Falls has gone for three days with no running water after one of its main water valves broke down at the weekend. The local authority said the valve broke down at its pump station resulting in the loss of water supplies. The situation became critical yesterday when the Central Business District and the industrial area ran dry.

Some residents in the resort town have resorted to fetching water from the Zambezi River, risking attack by wild animals or succumbing to waterborne diseases.

Toilet facilities at the magistrates’ court were closed yesterday, leaving people stranded.

Delays in addressing the problem might have serious repercussions on the tourism sector as hotels and lodges might end up without water as well.

Victoria Falls Municipality Town Clerk Christopher Dube said they stopped pumping water on Sunday and repair works started yesterday.

He said water supplies to hotels and low density suburbs do not require pumping but are dependent on gravity.

“The water problem is a result of a valve breakdown at the pump station. Our engineers said the valve cannot be fixed while water is at high level and we had to wait until the level lowered in the pump station. We stopped pumping so that the water level could go down which is why high areas as Mkhosana which rely on pumping immediately went dry,” Dube said.

“We will start pumping once the valve is fixed but it will take time before the situation goes back to normal. Hotels and the low density may not be affected if the valve is fixed in time because they use gravity but in parts of Chinotimba there will be a problem.”

He said he had not heard about people fetching water from the Zambezi River but the municipality does not encourage residents to do so as the water is not treated.

Dube said on a normal day, the local authority pumps 600 mega litres against a demand of 900 megalitres, leaving a deficit of 300 megalitres.

Victoria Residents Association chairperson Morgan Dube expressed fears of a health hazard.

“We were told that there is a fault at one of the water valves which need urgent replacement. The challenge is that the authority had to first empty the tanks and this has resulted in lack of water risking residents’ lives,” he said.

“We hope this will be rectified as a matter of urgency. We hope water will be restored soon since they said they might start pumping tonight (yesterday).”