Gweru council buys more water pumps
GWERU City Council (GCC) has purchased three high-level water pumps for Amapongobwe Dam from South Africa using the $7 million it received from Government to avert a potential water disaster that is looming due to the drying up of its main source of water, Gwenhoro Dam.
The Government three months ago came to the rescue of the MDC-Alliance-run council by sourcing four new water pumps worth about $4 million for the alternative Amapongobwe Dam which is said to be 72 percent full.
In an interview yesterday, Gweru Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe said he was glad to note that council engineers had completed installing the four water pumps bought by Government at Amapongobwe Dam.
He said what was stalling pumping of water were the three high-level water pumps which they had already paid for, but were yet to be delivered.
“With regards to progress on pumping water from Amapongobwe Dam, I am happy to note that we have managed to install the four water pumps secured by the Government recently, and the only thing left is the installation of the high-level water pumps which we have also bought using $7 million we got from the Government and we are just waiting for their delivery,” he said.
Cllr Makombe said with support they were receiving from Government, Gweru will not run dry.
“The first four water pumps were purchased by the Government and they gave us $7 million, part of which we have used to purchase the three high-level water pumps,” he said.
“This means that as soon as they are installed, the city’s perennial water woes will soon come to an end.”
Cllr Makombe said Gweru had a daily demand of water of about 80 megalitres.
“Once these pumps are installed, they will have a collective pumping capacity of 80 megalitres a day together with the one which is already there,” he said.
Cllr Makombe said Gwenhoro Dam was now around 13 percent full and left with five or six percent of water that can be pumped.
He said once it got to 10 percent, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority would decommission it.