BULAWAYO’S water crisis could worsen after many of the boreholes being drilled by the government in and around the city are yielding no water.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution secretary Paul Nyoni told Southern Eye that the water table in the country’s second largest city is now so low that drillers are coming up with a large number of dry holes,
The Bulawayo metropolitan province received one drilling rig from government last year to help ease the city’s perennial water crisis which has been exacerbated by the prevailing countrywide El Niño-induced drought.
The critical water situation in the city has seen Bulawayo City Council cutting off water supplies for about 120 hours a week. The large number of barren boreholes being drills could further worsen the plight of residents who were hoping the boreholes would help quench their thirst.
“We have sunk boreholes in the city using the drilling rig from the government, but the main problem is that there is a high percentage of dry holes,” Nyoni told Southern Eye in an interview.
“At most times, we will be having a target to sink a number of boreholes, but because of the water table, we do not sink the desired number,” he said.
Nyoni also revealed that the government was facing the challenge of vandalism, forcing it to drill boreholes at institutions where they are relatively safe.
“We have been drilling boreholes mainly in institutions or if I can say parastatals that have enough security. We have not been drilling in open spaces because there is a lot of vandalism going on hence the reason why many communities have not been noticing so much of our work,” he said.
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Nyoni said the provincial leadership was expecting the central government to provide another drilling rig.
It was recently revealed that the government was planning to drill 10 000 boreholes across Zimbabwe starting with the country’s driest regions to provide water supply and mitigate the impact of the El Niño-induced drought.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development ministry advisory services director Leonard Munamati said government had engaged partners on ways to mitigate the effects of the drought.
The project, Munamati said, would involve the drilling of at least 1 000 boreholes every month using Zimbabwe National Water Authority rigs.
