According
to
the
City
of
Bulawayo
Dam
Watch:
Dam
Level
Statistics
and
Inflows
Summary
as
at
Monday,
19
January
2026,
the
city’s
six
operational
dams
are
collectively
43.25
percent
full,
a
marginal
improvement
from
33.97
percent
recorded
at
the
same
time
last
year.
The
cumulative
increase
in
dam
levels
since
the
onset
of
the
rainy
season
in
October
stands
at
9.32
percent
of
total
system
capacity,
a
figure
many
residents
say
does
not
reflect
the
volume
of
rainfall
received.
Individually,
Mtshabezi
Dam
shows
the
strongest
recovery
at
95.01
percent
full,
up
from
53.84
percent
in
January
2025,
while
Insiza
Mayfair
Dam
stands
at
46.98
percent,
Lower
Ncema
at
39.03
percent,
Upper
Ncema
at
34.58
percent,
Umzingwane
at
27.21
percent
and
Inyankuni
remains
critically
low
at
16.65
percent.
The
city
council
said
they
received
inflows
into
the
City’s
supply
dams
on
21
October
2025
following
the
onset
of
the
rainy
season.
“The
cumulative
increase
in
dam
levels
attributable
to
the
rains
stands
at
9.32
percent
of
the
total
dam
system
capacity,”
said
the
council.
While
the
figures
indicate
some
improvement,
residents
argue
the
gains
are
disproportionately
small
when
compared
to
dam
levels
in
other
parts
of
the
country,
where
several
reservoirs
have
reportedly
spilled
over.
“I
see
there
is
a
slight
improvement
on
all
of
them,
particularly
Mtshabezi
which
has
gone
above
the
50
percent
mark.
However,
it
remains
worrisome
in
comparison
to
national
statistics
for
other
dams. Kambe
mhlonitshwa
kubangelwa
yini
ukuthi
amanzi
amanengi
kangaka
alahleke and
not
flow
into
the
dams?”
said
a
resident
in
a
community
discussion
forum,
asking
the
Ward
2
councillor,
Adrian
Rendani
Moyo.
Residents
are
increasingly
questioning
whether
rainfall
is
lost
before
reaching
the
reservoirs,
with
illegal
mining
emerging
as
a
central
concern.
Bulawayo
Mayor
David
Coltart
has
repeatedly
warned
that
illegal
gold
and
lithium
mining
activities
in
catchment
areas
are
devastating
the
city’s
water
security.
“I
have
been
speaking
out
about
this
for
two
years,
but
it
has
fallen
on
deaf
ears,”
Coltart
said
recently.
“Our
catchment
areas
have
been
utterly
devastated
by
illegal
gold
and
lithium
miners.
It
needs
the
intervention
of
the
Environmental
Management
Agency
(EMA),
the
Zimbabwe
Republic
Police
(ZRP)
and
possibly
the
military
to
stop
this
existential
crisis.”
The
mayor’s
remarks
echo
sentiments
expressed
by
the
Ward
2
Councillor,
who
acknowledged
that
mining
activities
were
undermining
water
inflows.
“The
problem
is
the
illegal
mining
activity
within
our
catchment
areas.
This
is
something
that
we
have
been
speaking
about,”
Moyo
said.
“There
is
a
team
of
people
that
is
going
to
visit
our
dams
very
soon.”
That
admission,
however,
did
little
to
reassure
residents,
some
of
whom
directly
questioned
the
effectiveness
of
environmental
regulators.
“So
EMA
has
failed
to
rein
in
illegal
miners
in
order
to
save
Bulawayo?”
one
resident
asked
bluntly.
“Yes,”
the
councillor
responded.
The
exchange
intensified
calls
for
stronger
intervention,
including
the
involvement
of
civil
society
experts
and
controversially,
the
military.
“I
allow
some
volunteers
from
civil
society,”
another
resident
said.
“You
will
be
surprised
by
the
amount
of
technical
expertise
that
could
contribute
to
a
solution.
I
am
sure
there
is
provision
in
our
Constitution,
once
such
a
situation
occurs,
to
call
in
the
last
line
of
defence,
which
is
the
Zimbabwe
National
Army
(ZNA).”
Residents
argued
the
consequences
of
inaction
are
already
visible,
with
Bulawayo
residents
enduring
water
supplies
as
infrequent
as
once
a
week.
“To
not
have
a
cholera
outbreak
is
through
God’s
mercy,”
one
contributor
warned.
Yet
not
all
residents
agree
that
illegal
mining
is
the
sole
cause
of
the
crisis.
Others
argued
that
Bulawayo’s
water
problems
pre-date
the
current
mining
boom
and
are
rooted
in
decades
of
infrastructure
neglect.
“Our
dams
can
be
full
to
capacity
and
still
not
be
enough
for
Bulawayo,”
one
resident
wrote.
“These
dams
were
built
for
the
population
at
the
time.
The
population
has
since
grown
by
more
than
60
percent
yet
we
are
still
using
the
same
dams.”
The
resident
pointed
out
that
municipal
records
indicate
that
one
new
dam
should
be
constructed
every
ten
years,
noting
that
no
new
dam
has
been
built
in
over
four
decades,
leaving
the
city
short
of
at
least
four
major
reservoirs.
Councillor
Moyo,
however,
said
dam
construction
falls
outside
the
city’s
mandate,
placing
responsibility
on
the
Zimbabwe
National
Water
Authority
(ZINWA).
“The
City
of
Bulawayo
does
not
have
the
authority
to
construct
dams,”
he
said.
Residents
countered
that
the
council
still
has
a
duty
to
lobby
for
additional
infrastructure
when
existing
systems
fail
to
meet
demand.
The
matter
also
drew
the
attention
of
Bulawayo
North
MP,
Minenhle
Gumede,
who
said
Members
of
Parliament
from
the
city
have
been
pushing
for
structural
reform
in
water
governance.
“All
Bulawayo
Members
of
Parliament
have
been
vocal
about
the
water
challenges
facing
our
city,”
Gumede
said.
“We
have
consistently
pushed
for
ZINWA
to
hand
back
its
mandate
to
the
council,
as
it
has
failed
to
adequately
address
these
challenges,
including
the
basic
responsibility
of
constructing
dams.”