BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has extended water-shedding period from 48 hours to 72 hours as a result of low water levels at Criterion Raw Water Reservoir, the city’s largest water treatment plant.
In a notice yesterday, BCC said the increase in water rationing hours was due to the breakdown at the supply dams.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise members of the public that council will continue shedding water into the weekend on a 24-hour regime. After the weekend, the shedding programme will revert to a 48-hour programme,” reads the notice in part.
“This is a result of the low water levels at Criterion Raw Water Reservoir, the city’s largest water treatment plant, due to disruption of continuous pumping at Umzingwane and Inyankuni,” it said.
Council urged the residents to conserve water so as to avoid penalties.
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Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, has perennially battled severe water shortages, compounded by dilapidated infrastructure.
“Council is currently working on the breakdowns at the dams so that raw water pumping is improved, ” the statement added.
BCC believes that by working on the breakdowns, this would help the city to increase the levels of raw water reservoirs, which still remain critically low.
