Zimbabwe’s
second-largest
city,
once
regarded
as
the
nation’s
industrial
powerhouse,
is
now
battling
one
of
its
worst
water
crises
in
decades.
Residents
in
several
suburbs
receive
water
only
twice
or
thrice
a
week,
while
others,
especially
those
in
high-lying
areas,
have
gone
for
months
without
running
water.
Many
now
depend
on
boreholes,
wells
and
Jojo
tanks
to
survive.
A
new
technical
report
titled Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
and
Groundwater:
Feasibility
and
Strategic
Importance,
prepared
for
the
Bulawayo
City
Council,
reveals
the
scale
of
the
crisis.
It
warns
that
Bulawayo
faces
a
“permanent
water
deficit
by
2040”
unless
decisive
action
is
taken
to
expand
supply.
In
his
foreword
to
the
report,
Cllr
Coltart
said
the
city
“stands
at
a
critical
juncture
in
its
quest
for
water
security,”
noting
that
the
shortages
are
now
undermining
Bulawayo’s
growth
and
resilience.
“For
decades,
the
city
has
endured
chronic
shortages,
severe
rationing,
and
the
erosion
of
confidence
in
its
ability
to
sustain
both
population
growth
and
economic
activity,”
he
said.
“Water
scarcity
in
Bulawayo
is
not
simply
an
environmental
challenge.
It
is
a
structural
constraint
on
the
city’s
growth,
investment
potential,
and
long-term
viability.”
The
report
identifies
the
proposed
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
as
the
quickest
and
most
affordable
intervention
to
stabilise
the
city’s
supply.
According
to
its
findings,
the
dam
could
deliver
70
megalitres
(ML)
of
water
per
day
within
three
years,
at
a
cost
of
US$0.90
per
cubic
metre.
“The
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
represents
the
most
practical,
least-cost,
and
fastest-to-implement
solution
to
the
city’s
current
water
crisis,”
Coltart
said.
“It
offers
a
realistic
opportunity
to
stabilise
supply
while
other
large-scale
projects
remain
years
away.”
By
contrast,
the
long-term
Gwayi-Shangani
project
will
take
at
least
10
years
to
complete
and
deliver
water
at
a
cost
of
US$2.47
per
cubic
metre,
nearly
three
times
more
expensive
than
the
Glassblock
supply.
The
report
recommends
that
both
construction
phases
of
the
Glassblock
project
proceed
simultaneously
to
ensure
immediate
impact.
“Phase
One
will
involve
the
building
of
the
dam
and
a
water
supply
pipeline
from
Glassblock
to
the
Ncema
pump
station,”
the
report
explained.
“Phase
Two
will
upgrade
the
Ncema
Water
Treatment
Works,
improve
pumping
capacity
to
the
Tuli
Reservoir,
and
double
the
reservoir’s
holding
capacity
from
45
to
90
megalitres.
Both
phases
must
proceed
at
the
same
time
so
that
when
the
dam
fills,
Bulawayo’s
residents
and
industries
can
immediately
benefit.”
The
report
also
points
to
widespread
environmental
degradation
as
a
major
contributor
to
the
crisis.
It
warns
that
illegal
riverbed
mining
has
destroyed
key
catchment
areas,
transforming
a
temporary
shortage
into
a
structural
one.
“Illegal
riverbed
mining
has
turned
what
should
be
a
temporary
shortage
into
a
structural
crisis.
The
destruction
of
catchment
areas
is
undoing
decades
of
investment
in
water
infrastructure,”
the
report
states.
Several
of
the
city’s
main
dams,
including
Umzingwane,
Upper
Ncema
and
Inyankuni,
have
suffered
severe
siltation.
The
report
notes
that
Inyankuni
now
receives
only
six
percent
of
its
intended
inflows,
while
Umzingwane
was
decommissioned
in
2023
after
water
levels
dropped
to
dead
storage.
Although
government
outlawed
alluvial
gold
mining
along
rivers
through
Statutory
Instrument
188
of
2024,
enforcement
has
been
weak,
and
illegal
activities
continue
to
threaten
Bulawayo’s
already
fragile
water
sources.
The
city’s
aquifers,
particularly
Nyamandhlovu
and
Epping
Forest,
also
face
serious
strain.
Originally
designed
to
provide
18
ML
per
day,
they
currently
yield
around
10
ML
due
to
vandalism,
poor
maintenance
and
over-extraction.
“Groundwater
resources
play
an
important
supplementary
role,
but
they
are
neither
sufficient
nor
sustainable
on
their
own,”
the
report
warns.
“Without
urgent
investment,
rehabilitation,
and
protection
of
aquifer
infrastructure,
these
resources
will
remain
vulnerable
to
vandalism,
over-extraction,
and
eventual
depletion.”
Bulawayo’s
water
insecurity
has
stunted
its
growth
and
investment
potential.
The
city’s
population
has
stagnated
at
around
655,000
for
over
a
decade,
a
situation
the
report
attributes
to
“suppressed
demand
driven
by
water
insecurity.”
The
report
estimates
the
city’s
current
minimum
supply
at
155
ML
per
day,
against
a
real
demand
of
more
than
260
ML.
Coltart
said
failing
to
act
decisively
would
have
far-reaching
consequences.
“The
completion
of
Glassblock
Dam
and
its
pipeline
is
not
a
luxury,
it
is
an
existential
necessity,”
he
said.
“Without
it,
Bulawayo
risks
not
only
worsening
shortages
but
also
the
erosion
of
its
role
as
a
dynamic
urban
and
economic
centre
in
Zimbabwe.”
The
report
concludes
that
only
major
infrastructure
investments
can
prevent
Bulawayo
from
sliding
into
a
permanent
state
of
crisis.
“An
integrated
water
security
plan
for
Bulawayo
is
essential,
deliver
Glassblock/Bopoma
Dam
urgently,
secure
and
rehabilitate
aquifers,
and
advance
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project
for
the
future,”
it
states.
“Without
these
measures,
Bulawayo
risks
deepening
shortages,
public
health
crises,
and
constrained
economic
development.”