The City of Bulawayo has issued an urgent public notice regarding deteriorating water quality and discoloration affecting several parts of the city.
The local authority acknowledged receiving “concerns and reports from residents and stakeholders about water discoloration in certain parts of the City” and provided clarification on the interventions currently underway. While laboratory tests confirm that chemical parameters—including pH, conductivity, and alkalinity, remain within safe limits, the city is grappling with significantly increased turbidity.
According to a statement released by Town Clerk Christopher Dube on February, the primary cause of the discoloration is high turbidity in the raw water drawn from uMzingwane Dam. Recent heavy rainfall in the catchment area has led to an influx of sediment, which has overwhelmed standard treatment processes. Dube noted that “heavy rainfall can make it harder for treatment processes to work efficiently,” leading to a situation where “sedimentation and sludge removal are more difficult”.
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This has caused “leftover sediments to move within the system,” resulting in visible discoloration and “occasional odour at consumer taps”.
The City of Bulawayo has prioritized several measures to restore water clarity, including “monitoring the water system closely and flushing the affected areas to remove residual sediments”.
The city is also working to improve sedimentation and sludge removal processes through maintenance and upgrades, while moving to “quickly purchasing equipment and parts to make the treatment plant more efficient, especially during high turbidity conditions”.
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