FULL TEXT: Gweru City Council Warns Of Strict Water Rationing

City of Gweru

WATER SITUATION UPDATE PRESS RELEASE

Gweru City Council has a population of plus or minus two hundred thousand (200 000) people and requires sixty (60) million litres of water per day, plus Industry demands, which totals to eighty (80) million litres of water per day.

Supply through the two treatment plants that is Gwenoro and White Waters, with capacities of sixty (60) million litres and five (5) million litres per day respectively when fully functional is sixty-five (65) million litres per day.

Currently, Gwenoro treatment plant has an output of 40-43 million litres per day whilst White Waters has an output averaging 1.5 million litres per day, giving a total of 43-44 million litres per day. Due to bottleneck mechanical and electrical equipment broken down, we cannot operate at full capacity.

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The total water produced per day is not enough to meet the 60+ million litres that is required per day. With a deficit of 15 million litres per day, we cannot fill our reservoirs. High lying areas which include Mkoba 14, 19, 11, 10, 1, 2, 7, 15, Haben Park and Ridgemont suffer because of this deficit.

Due to frequent power outages and pipe bursts on our pumping mains, there are also times when there is no production from our treatment plants. This further worsens water supply situation.

To be able to pump treated water at full capacity, there are rehabilitation works that need to be undertaken at our treatment plant and raw water pump station (Amaphongokwe and Gwenhoro) which mainly comprise of obsolete pump replacements and repair of mainlines and major fittings which have been costed to the tune of 10 million USD.

There are however, additional works that need to be done in the short and medium term which include:

1. Upgrading water treatment plants
2. Upgrading of water pumping mains + pump stations
3. Replacement of old and dilapidated pipe networks
4. Other related ancillary works at a total cost of 54 million USD.

The residents are further advised that Gwenhoro dam is currently at 26% which translates to only 5 months supply at current production rate.

Amaphongokwe dam is at 75% full, which is enough to take us for an additional 12 months. However, our pumping equipment is broken down and we cannot utilise the resource. Efforts are underway to urgently construct and equip Amaphongokwe raw water pump station. However, due to the financial challenges the City is facing, the equipping of Amaphongokwe may not materialise as soon as possible.

In this case we will be forced in the next few months to exercise strict water rationing so as to extend the period by which we extract water at Gwenhoro.

Gweru City: “A Sustainable Prosperous City Of Choice by 2030”

E GWATIPEDZA
TOWN CLERK