In September last year the vast dam, located near Shurugwi, was decommissioned after its water levels had dwindled to three per cent. There was severe water rationing by the council and a smaller dam, Amapongogwe, was used temporarily. The strict water rationing scheme is still underway.
Hope had been high that Gwenhoro Dam would be boosted by the rains.
In an interview, acting engineer at Gweru city council, Iven Muzondo, confirmed that the situation could be dire if the rains became erratic in the one month left of the rainy season.
“The water can only last the city for two months,” he said.
Muzondo urged residents to use water sparingly as council battled to sink boreholes in the suburbs.
Last year, the council resolved to sink 36 boreholes at a cost of $138,000 but the project failed due to lack of money, exacerbated by the government’s directive for the local authority to write off residents’ debts of $8m.
Post published in: News