Gweru City Council is set to introduce water rationing next week as water levels continue to drop in its two supply dams.
The city's Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Praymore Mhlanga, said capacity at the city's main water sources, Gwenoro and Amapongobwe dams had dropped to 50 percent, a level he said cannot sustain supplies until the next rainy season.
Eng Mhlanga said there was a need to balance the consumption and supply rate of water, considering that the city did not have adequate storage capacity. He said water levels in the city's main dams were low due to erratic rains.
"The city will next week introducing water shedding as a stop gap measure. The water levels at our dams are critical considering that our main supply Gwenoro and Amapongobwe dams have about 50 percent water capacity, and we are hoping we continue receiving rains to increase these water levels," said Eng Mhlanga.
He said they had started drafting a water rationing schedule and urged residents to conserve water to avert a disaster. Eng Mhlanga said water supplies must last the city up to the next rainy season to avoid a crisis.
"Water levels were better off early last year with dams at 90 percent capacity but shortages persisted," he said.
Water shortages in Gweru have also been blamed on council for using obsolete equipment. The local authority also has no water storage tanks, a situation that has resulted in recurrent water woes once a fault develops at the pumping station.