Mr Winos Dube
Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO residents have said council should reverse its decision to introduce water shedding in two weeks’ time saying it would not only waste water but also destroy infrastructure.
They say the local authority should tighten water rationing instead.
The local authority decided to introduce a 24 hour water shedding schedule for all the city’s suburbs at the beginning of next month.
Water shedding is a system of conserving tap water by cutting supplies for a fixed period.
Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo last week warned that a 48-hour schedule may be implemented if residents do not conserve water.
A resident of Cowdray Park, Mr Wisdom Sibanda said water shedding resulted in residents actually using more water.
“When council announces its water shedding time table, residents fill up drums some of which exceed what they normally use on a daily basis. When water supplies are restored they then water their gardens with that water and fill up their containers with fresh water. This leads to wastage of water. Water rationing is the best option,” said Mr Sibanda.
Ms Lisca Phiri from Pumula North said water shedding destroyed water infrastructure in the city as it has been blamed for pipe bursts and sewage overflows in the past.
“It’s more costly to council to introduce water shedding because they say when water is switched back on, the pressure causes pipe bursts. We end up going for longer periods without water as council struggles to fix burst pipes,” said Ms Phiri.
Another resident who declined to be named said thousands of litres of purified water are lost through pipe bursts.
Mr Kudzai Masendu of Gwabalanda suburb said: “We have bad memories of water shedding. We will be having overflowing sewers here and there as well as more mosquitoes.”
He said although he understood the reasons for water shedding, he preferred water rationing where offenders are penalised for using excess water.
At the height of water shedding in 2013, Bulawayo residents went without water for up to four days in a week.
Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said he could not comment on the residents’ fears.
“It’s true that water shedding leads to water wastage and pipe bursts but I am not in a position to comment as we would discuss those issues in the water crisis committee next week,” said Mr Dube.
The local authority has embarked on a massive water disconnection exercise to force defaulting residents to settle their bills.
Mr Dube said the municipality was disconnecting water supplies with immediate effect.
He said the exercise was meant to encourage residents to make payment plans.
Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson, Mr Winos Dube encouraged residents to pay or make payment plans with the local authority.
“It’s a really tricky situation. The residents are struggling economically but as a residents association we are saying they must make an effort to pay what they have and approach the council for payment plans,” said Mr Dube.
“At the same time residents expect services from council so they have to pay something in order to keep our council running. As we speak council has a backlog in salary payments to its employees so we have to pay the little we get.”
The city is battling to conserve water as it struggles with what has been said to be its worst water crisis in five years.
The city’s six supply dams, Insiza, Mtshabezi, Umzingwane, Inyankuni, Upper and Lower Ncema are holding about 30 percent of their cumulative capacity.
Around this time in 2012 and 2013, the dams averaged 43,1 percent and 42,8 percent respectively.
@AuxiliaK