City of Bulawayo Receives $1.2 Million from Government to Upgrade Aging Water Pump Stations
In a significant move to address the city’s chronic water supply challenges, the City of Bulawayo is embarking on a major infrastructure upgrade project, utilising $1.2 million in funding from the Zimbabwean government.
On Friday, July 26th, 2024, representatives from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement, along with the Bulawayo Water Technical Committee and City Council members, visited the Mzingwane and Inyankuni project sites to inspect the progress of the refurbishment work.
Addressing the delegation, Director of Engineering for the City of Bulawayo, Sikhumbuzo Ncube, shared the details of the ongoing project.
“We are proud to share with you the progress that is currently following the funding that we received from the government for the reattachment of two critical pump stations that we have,” he said.
The first pump station being upgraded is the Mzingwane Pump Station, which draws water from the Mzingwane Dam, a key dam that helps stabilise the city’s water system. The second is the Inyankuni Pump Station.
“Mzingwane Pump Station is a pump that actually draws water or abstracts water from Mzingwane Dam. Mzingwane Dam is the dam that stabilises our system,” Ncube explained.
He added, “Why do I say that? We have the luxury of either gravitating that water, or we then introduce pumps to ensure that we have more water being drawn to the city, to manage that gap that will be now happening in the city.”
The ageing pumps at the two stations, some of which were installed as far back as the 1950s, are being replaced with new equipment through a contract with Pump Systems, a local company.
“Some, if you look at some of the stamps that you see there, I think they were not from 1954, 1950, because in the U.S. they were 1957, and you can imagine a pump that is 1957,” Ncube said, highlighting the need for the upgrades.
In addition to the Mzingwane Pump Station, the city is also working to optimise the raw water supply from the Mtshabezi Dam, which is linked to Mzingwane through a series of pumps and reservoirs.
“We need to ensure that we optimise to its fullest the raw water that we are getting from Mtshabezi. We don’t usually utilise and realize the full benefit of it,” Ncube said.
He added, “We have the number of wells that we can get from the dam. Once we get the full benefit, we start the pumping process. We get the maximum of the two wells.”
The city is also doing additional work at the Inyankuni Dam, where pumping is done to supply the Ncema water treatment plant. This work includes installing a new transformer to ensure adequate pumping capacity from the dam.
“Why do we need to do that? To also ensure we have enough and adequate pumping potential that can actually grow maximum from Inyankuni,” Ncube explained.
Chairperson of the Bulawayo Water Technical Committee, Annatoria Chinyama also addressed the delegation, outlining the key objectives of the project.
“We are doing work at these pump stations to try and refurbish the infrastructure, upgrade it, so that we can improve the supply of water to Bulawayo,” she said.
The funding from the government has enabled the council to procure new pumps and other critical components for the two pump stations.
Chinyama expressed optimism that the upgrades would soon be completed, stating, “The contractors have assured us that we should commission the pumps, latest by the end of September or early October.”
In addition to the pump station refurbishments, the council is also working on a project to construct a pipeline that will take water from the Mtshabezi pipeline and direct it through the pumping system at the Mzingwane pump station. This, Chinyama explained, is a strategic move to augment the water supply to the city.
“We are saying when it goes by gravity, we don’t have much control over the amount of water. So we want to pump that water. So this is why we want to then dedicate that pipeline to then go through the pump station that we have finished in the morning. So that we can then pump that water from Mtshabezi,” she elaborated.
The council’s efforts to improve water and sanitation services in Bulawayo extend beyond the current project. Chinyama revealed that the initial submissions to the Minister had estimated a total funding requirement of $15 million to address the city’s water and sanitation needs comprehensively.
While the current $1.2 million allocation has been a significant boost, Chinyama acknowledged that more funding would be needed to address the full scope of the challenge.
“We, if you remember from our submissions to the Minister initially after our first 100 days, calculated that we need about $15 million for us to do the work that would help improve the supply of water and sanitation as well,” she said.
The tour also touched on the issue of illegal gold panning activities along the city’s streams, which have been a concern for the council. Chinyama indicated that while the technical committee does not have direct jurisdiction over the matter, they have recommended that the relevant agencies, such as the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Ministry of Mines, investigate the legality of these operations.
As the Bulawayo City Council continues its efforts to revamp the city’s water infrastructure, the residents of Bulawayo eagerly await the completion of the ongoing projects, which promise to bring much-needed relief to the long-standing water supply challenges.
#News in Bulawayo #News in Zimbabwe Artist Arts BCC Bulawayo Bulawayo City Council Bulawayo Drugs Bulawayo economy Bulawayo industry Bulawayo news Bulawayo Police Bulawayo Water Bulawayo Water Crisis Bulawayo Women entrepreneurship Business Women Community Culture Currency Drug Abuse Drugs Economy Farmer Farmers Farming Informal Sector Informal Traders MSMEs Music News in Bulawayo News in Zimbabwe Police Police in Bulawayo Vendor Vendors water Water Crisis Water Shortage water supply issue Women entrepreneurship ZESA Zimbabwean economy Zimbabwe news Zimbabwe water crisis ZITF ZRP
Join us for all News in Bulawayo and Bulawayo News in Zimbabwe.
