Two more supply dams to be decommissioned

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor

BULAWAYO’s supply dams are just over 33 percent of their capacity with the local authority warning it will have to decommission two more dams in the coming weeks as the water situation continues to deteriorate.

The city council decommissioned Umzingwane Dam in November last year after its levels had deteriorated and council officials have indicated that Upper and Lower Ncema dams will also soon be decommissioned.

According to statistics provided by the local authority, the city’s supply dams are 33,16 percent full.

As of Friday last week, Insiza was at 46,21 percent, Inyankuni 23,65 percent, Lower Ncema 24,63 percent, Umzingwane 2,69 percent, Upper Ncema 8,99 percent and Mtshabezi 54,71 percent.

“The current 2023-2024 rainy season had approached an end with the city’s cumulative inflows to date being 17,7 million cubic metres, which translated to 4,28 percent of the city’s dam’s full holding capacity. Furthermore, in comparison to a similar time in 2023, the dams held 19,92 percent more water than presently.

“Abstraction from supply dams totalled 2,9 million cubic metres while Mtshabezi pumped 324 565 cubic metres, thus an average delivery of 8 000 cubic metres a day versus the anticipated 17 000 cubic metres a day. The variation was attributed to breakdowns and power outages affecting water delivery from Mtshabezi to Umzingwane for the years 2023 and 2024,” reads the latest council report.

The local authority further noted that Upper Ncema and Lower Ncema dams were projected to be decommissioned towards the end of July 2024.

That would result in the city relying on Inyankuni, Insiza and Mtshabezi dams as well as the Nyamandlovu Aquifer only.

Addressing councillors at a full council meeting last Wednesday, the city’s Mayor, Councillor David Coltart said while they continued to grapple for solutions to the crisis, considerable progress had been made on the Glassblock Dam project, which is considered a medium-term solution.

The dam is envisaged to increase the inflows of water to Bulawayo by 70 percent.

“Glassblock is progressing well, the Town Clerk and his management team have had very productive meetings with the consortium and we are in the final stages of the team agreeing on a water purchasing agreement, the legal agreement that will facilitate that.

“We look forward to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) giving the necessary authority in support of this deal. Since we last met, I have also, with the Town Clerk had very productive meetings with senior Government officials and it appears as if the Government is supportive of Glassblock,” said Clr Coltart.

He said there was a need for all stakeholders to work together in the implementation of both short and medium-term strategies if there was going to be any solution to the perennial water challenges.

“Our city is not immune to drought, it is affected. Our dams are sitting at alarmingly low levels, something like 33 percent and so, we face a real crisis in this region and throughout the country,” said the Mayor.

Bulawayo is faced with one of its worst water crisis in recent years due to the El Nino-induced drought, which saw low rainfalls across the country resulting in considerably low inflows into the city’s six supply dams.

Last week, the local authority tightened its water rationing regime and introduced punitive fines for those exceeding daily expected limits.

The stringent measures contained in the latest council report include the reduction of the present free water allocation of 5 000 litres per month by 40 percent to 3 000 litres meant to ensure the availability of the precious liquid right through the year.

Residents will further pay US$4,13 per kilolitre, which they use outside of their daily allocation.