The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
DISTRIBUTION of water in Rusape — which has been erratic over the years —has been boosted following a gesture from Green Fuel which donated two 75-horse power water pumps that have trebled the town’s abstraction capacity.
Green Fuels which also donated a 100KVA electricity transformer to power the pumps was forced to intervene following a tiff between Zimbabwe National Water Authority and Rusape Town Council over the release of water from Rusape Dam to meet the company’s irrigation needs in the Lowveld.
Equipment donated by Green Fuel and installed by its engineers at the Jack Needham Water Works was worth over $70 000.
Green Fuel also trained council water technicians on how to operate and maintain the pumps before handing them over last week.
Prior to the latest development, the local authority has been relying on 2x25HP raw water pumps which were failing to meet the demand from the town’s growing population. This resulted in the local authority locking horns with Zinwa over the release of water because its abstraction works could not cope with dwindling water levels in Rusape Dam as they could be lowered to a depth of 30 metres.
Council argued that additional water release without improving the pumping capacity would result in a water crisis in Rusape.
Town secretary, Mr Joshua Maligwa on Wednesday told The Manica Post that Green Fuel sourced and fitted the pumps which could be lowered to a depth of 100m with a triple effect on the town’s pumping capacity at no cost to the local authority.
Mr Maligwa said the new set of pumps was more efficient and capable of filling its five Mabvazuva reservoirs in less than 10 hours of continuous pumping.
“Our pumping capacity has increased three fold and we are currently using one pump which proved to be efficient enough to fill our reservoirs tanks in Mabvazuva and Sanzaguru to the extent that we are now grappling with serious burst pipes in our existing water distribution network,” said Mr Maligwa.
“The pumps are so efficient that we are now able to cut our electricity bills by pumping during the night when it is cheaper and switch off the pumps during the day when pumping will be expensive,” said Mr Maligwa.
Mr Maligwa said his council was going ahead with plans to lay new water reticulation systems in new suburbs without worries of water rationing.
“These pumps have the capacity to efficiently supply water to a population double the current size of Rusape which means those in Magamba and Crocodile areas will soon be having running water in their homes once the water distribution network is complete,” said Mr Maligwa.
Rusape Town Council and Green Fuel have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that covers the supply and installation of the pumps, but were still to work out on modalities for spares and operation maintenance procedure that were not part of the initial agreement.
They have so far verbally agreed that Green Fuel will remain the major agent of repairs and maintenance.
Zinwa is now releasing water from Rusape Dam to meet irrigation demands by the sugarcane growers in the Lowveld.
