THE Bulawayo water crisis has reached another level with council indicating that it will cut off supplies to the Central Business District (CBD) and industrial areas for the first time, rendering the whole city dry.

Council had exempted the two key economic areas from water cuts after implementing a devastating water shedding programme which has seen most suburbs going for weeks without water, with other areas getting water for a few hours on a single day once a week. However, it is the latest announcement, that will send shivers even in the industrial corners, as water is key in most companies’ operations.

Bulawayo Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube yesterday said the city has not been treating water since Friday owing to a power surge that was experienced.

“The City of Bulawayo would like to inform residents of a power surge which occurred at the Criterion Water Treatment Plant late on Friday disrupting the water treatment process. Currently no treatment is taking place at Criterion. Further to that, Cowdray Park Booster Station on the Nyamandlovu line that supplies the Magwegwe Reservoir also lost power on Saturday (yesterday). In that regard, water supply is closed for the whole city till such a time when power is restored,” said Mr Dube.

The Town Clerk said a Zesa subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC) was currently working on rectifying the problems to ensure resumption of water treatment at Criterion and pumping of water on the Nyamandlovu line.-The Sunday News