BCC works on technology to get rid of water shedding

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is working on installing new technology that will see it effectively getting rid of water shedding amid complaints from residents that the local authority has failed to adhere to set schedules.

Residents in the city are enduring a 72-hour water shedding schedule as a means of spreading the available supplies till the next rainy season with Umzingwane Dam already having been decommissioned and another supply dam, Upper Ncema also facing the same fate.

Speaking on the sidelines of a recent tour of Southern Areas Sewage Treatment Works which is being rehabilitated, acting director of engineering services, Engineer Sikhumbuzo Ncube said they have already purchased 27 Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV), with 12 having been installed. He said what it means was that some areas would not experience water shedding but will have the local authority only reducing pressure.

A Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) is an Automatic Control Valve designed to reduce a higher unregulated inlet pressure to a constant, reduced downstream (outlet) pressure regardless of variations in demand and/or upstream (inlet) water pressure.

“This system of opening and closing water is damaging to our system because our pipes were not meant for that. When you are opening and closing, you are basically weakening the system. We now have the development of Pressure Reducing Valves and we are now working on introducing these valves into our system so that when we are opening and closing, we won’t be shutting down completely like what we have been doing in our shedding schedule, we will be just reducing the pressure,” said Eng Ncube.

The acting director said for high lying areas they would then direct all their intervention measures so that residents in these areas do not feel the pinch.

“Of course, there are areas on higher lying grounds, we have boreholes, water kiosks and bowsers to cater for them. So far, we have 27 PRVs and have already installed 12 and if we install the remaining 15, we will effectively get rid of water shedding and it will subsequently help reduce the problem of burst pipes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Eng Ncube launched an appeal to residents to desist from abusing water as this could further increase the daily consumption thereby worsening the situation in the city.

“We all realise that we are now in summer and in Bulawayo during this hot summer weather, water consumption increases drastically, which is why we had to decommission Umzingwane and very soon Upper Ncema will now also be decommissioned, leaving us with four supply dams and the Nyamandlovu boreholes. In terms of statistics our dams are just close to 49 percent full hence we had to implement a 72-hour water shedding schedule, this all in an effort to preserve the available supplies. Our call therefore, is for residents to help reduce their consumption at least till December. Those who are abusing water like the use of hosepipes, we will surely penalise. If we see a burst pipe, please let us all report this to the nearest council office so that it can be attended to,” he said.