Some boreholes have dried-up while water levels have significantly dropped in others, says Lusaka Water
THE Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company have called on its customers to conserve water in the wake of a substantial drop in water production from its borehole sources which account for sixty percent of the water supplied by the company to Lusaka City.
In a statement to Mwebantu, Interim Managing Director, Manuel Mutale says that some boreholes have dried-up while water levels have significantly dropped in others to a level where the company is forced to switch them off for some hours in order to allow for recharge.
Mr Mutale said that this situation coupled with load shedding will make the distribution of water challenging and consequently reduce the water supply hours for most parts of the city.
“The utility company will continue with the water rationing program which was instituted in the second half of 2015 in order to ensure equitable distribution of water to all its customers. This means that there will be reduced supply hours of water,” he said.
He has further urged the customers to also show responsibility by conserving water during the dry season in order to ease the pressure of increased demand during this period of the year.
“The company is equally concerned with the erratic supply of water both from a service delivery and commercial point of view and will therefore; endeavor to continue making efforts to improve the situation so that there can more stability and predictability of service delivery to its customers,” he said.
Water rationing was instituted in view of the reduced water production capacity. The level of water production for Lusaka City reduced from an average of 258,000m3/day in 2014, to a little over 190,000m3/day in 2016, representing over 25% reduction in water production, mainly on account of power load shedding and low yield on the 125 ground water sources spread around the City.
The company is confident that the many interventions put in place through several projects currently underway in the city will yield desired results to turn around the current situation.