Gweru to introduce water rationing

via Gweru to introduce water rationing – Southern Eye February 3, 2016

GWERU City Council has warned that it might introduce water rationing soon, as water levels at its main water supplier, Gwenoro Dam, had dropped to 46% of its holding capacity, while its supplementary dam, Amapongokwe was at 60%.

by Stephen Chadenga

Acting director of engineering services, Praymore Mhlanga said council would soon introduce water rationing because of the dwindling dam levels.

Meanwhile, the local authority has blamed disruptions in water supplies on power cuts, which hit most parts of the city since last week, forcing residents to resort to boreholes and other unhygienic sources of water.

Council said the electricity outages were affecting the water pumping capacity causing taps to run dry.

Acting town clerk, Edgar Mwedzi urged residents to use water sparingly as the local authority engages the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to resolve the matter.

“The City of Gweru would like to notify all its valued customers that the city is experiencing water supply interruptions since Monday January 25, 2016 due to intermittent power supply,” Mwezi said in a notice,” council said.

“We anticipate the interruptions to continue and, therefore, residents are advised to use water sparingly, during these power outages. The city is currently engaging ZETDC to improve power supply.”

ZETDC southern region general manager, King Dube was not immediately available for comment yesterday. Last year, Dube said in 2014 the region lost
13 tonnes of copper valued at $260 000 due to acts of vandalism and theft.

The southern region covers the whole of Midlands, parts of Mashonaland East (Chivhu) and parts of Matabeleland North (Nkayi) provinces.

Last year, Gweru experienced water shortages as a result of erratic power supplies, as well as the breakdown of pumps.

Most water pumps in the city are obsolete and have not been replaced for some time.