Story by Lisa Masuku
GOVERNMENT has identified the upgrading of water pipelines from Mtshabezi and Insiza dams to Bulawayo as a short term measure to water challenges in Bulawayo.
The Bulawayo water crisis has seen the city subjected to over 130 hours of water shedding, with the government working on both short and long term measures to address the situation.
The stop gap measure will see the upgrading of water pipelines from Mtshabezi and Insiza dams to Bulawayo.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka after an assessment tour of Mtshabezi, Umzingwane and Insiza dams this Friday.
“Today afforded us an opportunity to see two major supply systems for Bulawayo. The first one was the Mtshabezi- Mzingwane system where we were looking at the limitation to delivering the 17 megalitres that Mtshabezi can provide. Now we are at Insiza where the dam is 38 percent full. The current water in the dam is enough to supply the city of Bulawayo for the next 10 months. The problem we have with Bulawayo is not water, it is the conveyance system that we need to attend to.
“The conveyance system for Insiza currently is 45 megalitres a day. The design capacity is 55 megaliters a day. The immediate intervention is to bring the conveyance to operate at design capacity of 55mega liters a day. If we can do the Umzingwane by- pass for Mtshabezi in order to maximise the 17 megalitres,” he said.
Bulawayo Mayor, Senator David Coltart expressed appreciation to government for prioritising the city’s water crisis by appreciating the need for short term measures to address the perennial water challenges.
“We are grateful that the Minister has taken time to come and see Mtshabezi and Insiza dams and we are grateful for the undertaking that he has given. We have been stating for some time that the short-term solution to the crisis in Bulawayo is to upgrade the pipeline from Mtshabezi to Ncema pump station.
“We are also grateful that the PRAZ processes will be short circuited because in our experience, that has been delaying the urgent work that needs to be done. We look forward to PRAZ approving what needs to be done.”
Government is committed to finding a lasting solution to the perennial water challenges in the city of Bulawayo, hence the prioritisation of the Gwayi-Shangani Lake project.
