Due to electricity outages at Ncema and Fernhill, the City of Bulawayo is pumping water for ten hours per day instead of the whole day, resulting in reduced water quantities for households who are compelled to use water sparingly or seek alternative sources.
Zimbabwe’s second-largest city has been battling with water shortages caused by growing population expansion, few supply dams, recurrent droughts and recently, power failures.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to inform residents that we are currently facing a significant challenge with our water supply system due to ongoing power outages at Ncema and Fernhill we are only receiving eight to 10 hours of pumping water per day instead of the normal 24 hours of pumping, this has resulted in minimised water volumes of water pumped which is not enough to meet the current water demand,” said the Bulawayo Town Clerk, Christopher Dube in a statement released Saturday.
As a result, the six distribution reservoirs that supply water to Bulawayo are straining to maintain acceptable water levels due to less pumping.
“This causes significant distress and inconvenience to the residents,” acknowledged the town clerk but claimed the local authority was doing its “best to balance the water demand of the community.”
To avoid any disruptions to the water supply, the city will continue with its daily water restoration program, which will provide water sparingly to all of the city’s suburbs.
“We are aware of the impact that this situation is having on the residents and we want to assure you that we are actively engaged with ZESA to address the power disruptions that have impacted our water supply,” Dube said.
“While we cannot provide specific details about the ongoing discussions, we can assure you that the council and ZESA are working together to find a solution to this critical issue. We appreciate the residents for their patience and understanding during this challenging time and would like to advise that we are doing everything in our power to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
