Fury grows as Bulawayo dams fail to fill 

Despite a season of above-normal rainfall across much of the country, Bulawayo’s supply dams remain worryingly low, reinforcing long-standing concerns by residents and city leaders that ‘something fundamental is broken’ in the city’s water system.

According to the City of Bulawayo Dam Watch: Dam Level Statistics and Inflows Summary as at Monday, 19 January 2026, the city’s six operational dams are collectively 43.25 percent full, a marginal improvement from 33.97 percent recorded at the same time last year.

The cumulative increase in dam levels since the onset of the rainy season in October stands at 9.32 percent of total system capacity, a figure many residents say does not reflect the volume of rainfall received.

Individually, Mtshabezi Dam shows the strongest recovery at 95.01 percent full, up from 53.84 percent in January 2025, while Insiza Mayfair Dam stands at 46.98 percent, Lower Ncema at 39.03 percent, Upper Ncema at 34.58 percent, Umzingwane at 27.21 percent and Inyankuni remains critically low at 16.65 percent.

The city council said they received inflows into the City’s supply dams on 21 October 2025 following the onset of the rainy season.

“The cumulative increase in dam levels attributable to the rains stands at 9.32 percent of the total dam system capacity,” said the council.

While the figures indicate some improvement, residents argue the gains are disproportionately small when compared to dam levels in other parts of the country, where several reservoirs have reportedly spilled over.

“I see there is a slight improvement on all of them, particularly Mtshabezi which has gone above the 50 percent mark. However, it remains worrisome in comparison to national statistics for other dams. Kambe mhlonitshwa kubangelwa yini ukuthi amanzi amanengi kangaka alahleke and not flow into the dams?” said a resident in a community discussion forum, asking the Ward 2 councillor, Adrian Rendani Moyo.

Residents are increasingly questioning whether rainfall is  lost before reaching the reservoirs, with illegal mining emerging as a central concern.

Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has repeatedly warned that illegal gold and lithium mining activities in catchment areas are devastating the city’s water security.

“I have been speaking out about this for two years, but it has fallen on deaf ears,” Coltart said recently.

“Our catchment areas have been utterly devastated by illegal gold and lithium miners. It needs the intervention of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and possibly the military to stop this existential crisis.”

The mayor’s remarks echo sentiments expressed by the Ward 2 Councillor, who acknowledged that mining activities were undermining water inflows.

“The problem is the illegal mining activity within our catchment areas. This is something that we have been speaking about,” Moyo said.

“There is a team of people that is going to visit our dams very soon.”

That admission, however, did little to reassure residents, some of whom directly questioned the effectiveness of environmental regulators.

“So EMA has failed to rein in illegal miners in order to save Bulawayo?” one resident asked bluntly.
“Yes,” the councillor responded.

The exchange intensified calls for stronger intervention, including the involvement of civil society experts and controversially, the military.

“I allow some volunteers from civil society,” another resident said.

“You will be surprised by the amount of technical expertise that could contribute to a solution. I am sure there is provision in our Constitution, once such a situation occurs, to call in the last line of defence, which is the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA).”

Residents argued the consequences of inaction are already visible, with Bulawayo residents enduring water supplies as infrequent as once a week.

“To not have a cholera outbreak is through God’s mercy,” one contributor warned.

Yet not all residents agree that illegal mining is the sole cause of the crisis.

Others argued that Bulawayo’s water problems pre-date the current mining boom and are rooted in decades of infrastructure neglect.

“Our dams can be full to capacity and still not be enough for Bulawayo,” one resident wrote. “These dams were built for the population at the time. The population has since grown by more than 60 percent yet we are still using the same dams.”

The resident pointed out that municipal records indicate that one new dam should be constructed every ten years, noting that no new dam has been built in over four decades, leaving the city short of at least four major reservoirs.

Councillor Moyo, however, said dam construction falls outside the city’s mandate, placing responsibility on the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA).

“The City of Bulawayo does not have the authority to construct dams,” he said.

Residents countered that the council still has a duty to lobby for additional infrastructure when existing systems fail to meet demand.

The matter also drew the attention of Bulawayo North MP, Minenhle Gumede, who said Members of Parliament from the city have been pushing for structural reform in water governance.

“All Bulawayo Members of Parliament have been vocal about the water challenges facing our city,” Gumede said.

“We have consistently pushed for ZINWA to hand back its mandate to the council, as it has failed to adequately address these challenges, including the basic responsibility of constructing dams.”