By Correspondent
Crisis-ridden Bulawayo City Council is losing 48% of treated water due to old pipes, vandalism and water bursts in suburbs.
This was revealed by Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu in an interview with a state media publication.
Ndlovu said they have since been granted US$15 million by government to deal with the challenges.
Clr Ndlovu said the council met with Minister of Finance Professor Mthuli Ncube concerning the issue last week.
“The US$15 million is for a short-term measure to attend to the leakages on major pipelines that draw water to the city, as well as to rehabilitate vandalised infrastructure,” he said.
“There are also burst pipes in some of the city suburbs where we are losing treated water.”
Ndlovu said council anticipates to receive the funds within two weeks.
“I don’t have the specifics but the process includes duplicating pipelines to draw water from substitute dams.
“After the completion of this first stage, which is a temporary measure, we hope to move to the next stage, which is the medium strategy to ensure the availability of water in the city.
“This includes the construction of dams,” said Clr Ndlovu.
Experts have revealed that the long-term plan to solve Bulawayo’s perennial water shortages lies with the Lake Gwayi-Shangani project.
Government has promised to complete the dam this year.
Currently, council has effected a 120-hour water-shedding schedule which was adopted in February.
However, it has still struggled to maintain that schedule.