BULAWAYO – The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has been forced to cut water supplies to residential areas due to power outages that have hit the metropolis’ Ncema Water Works and Fernhill pump stations.
In a notice to stakeholders Wednesday, Town Clerk Christopher Dube said the water cuts do not affect the city’s industrial areas and the central business district.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise members of the public of water supply interruptions to all areas in the city except for industry and the central business district,” he said.
“This is a result of a power outage which occurred on Wednesday, 22 February 2023 at 14:50 hours up to 07:05 hours on the 23rd of February 2023 at Ncema Waterworks and Fernhill Pump station.”
Dube said water supplies to residents will resume when reservoir levels rise.
“This led to the depletion of reservoirs as a result of reduced pumping for both raw and clear water.
“To protect the supply and distribution reservoirs from collapsing, the City of Bulawayo will be cutting off the water supply to the mentioned areas until reservoir levels have been satisfactorily restored,” he said.
Water from the city’s catchment dams is pumped and treated at Ncema Water Works.
Rainwater is also pumped from Ncema to Fernhill enroute to Criterion Water Works for treatment.
The announcement by BCC comes after residents have endured up 48 hours of water shedding per week in attempts to preserve the necessary resource.
According to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, the city’s main water supply dams are still low despite recent incessant rains that have been pounding the region.
