BUWA donates water to 224 Byo families
LOBBY group Bulawayo Water Action (BUWA) at the weekend donated 120 litres of water to 224 households in Sizinda suburb as the water crisis continues to rock the city.
BUWA convener Percy Mcijo said the gesture was necessitated by the long hours residents spent in queues as the Bulawayo City Council continues to struggle to supply potable water.
Three out of six dams supplying water to the country’s second largest city have been decommissioned due to low levels.
“About 224 Sizinda households, all of them flats, received 120 litres of water each, courtesy of BUWA,” Mcijo said.
“The residents have not been receiving water, even during the council’s restoration periods because of poor gravity.
“BUWA supplied the water and also took the opportunity to educate residents on how to non-violently claim their rights, how to act responsibly and stop vandalising council pipes.”
The residents created a “message board” appealing to the city fathers to provide them water bowsers. They also staged a protest, with placards reading “We demand drinking water”, “At Sizinda Flats was need water urgently, Water is our right” and “Girl child is in danger of rape and abuse at water points”.
Council recently announced that it had stopped water supplies to the whole city following power breakdown at Criterion Water Treatment Plant.
The local authority said it would only resume supplies when power had been restored.
Town clerk Christopher Dube said there was an interruption of water supplies to the city in areas directly fed by the Criterion and Magwegwe reservoirs.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to inform residents of a power surge which occurred at the Criterion Water Treatment Plant late on Friday disrupting the water treatment process.
“Currently, no treatment is taking place at Criterion. Further to that, Cowdray Park Booster Station on the Nyamandlovu line that supplies the Magwegwe Reservoir lost power on Saturday,” Dube said.
“In that regard, water supply is closed for the whole city until such a time when power is restored.
“Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is currently working on rectifying the problems to ensure resumption of water treatment at Criterion and pumping of water on the Nyamandlovu line.”
Dube also said the provisional daily water supply restoration schedule would be reviewed in line with reservoir levels upon completion of the work by ZETDC and balancing of the water supply reservoirs.