Dry Weekend For Chitungwiza: Municipality Warns Of Water Supply Disruption

Residents of Chitungwiza are bracing for a dry weekend after the local municipality announced a temporary water supply disruption due to emergency maintenance works.

In a statement issued on X, the Municipality of Chitungwiza said the pump at Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant was switched off at 16:50hrs on Friday to facilitate repairs to a major trunk line.

““A pump at Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant was switched off yesterday at 16:50hrs to allow for critical trunk line repairs. Chitungwiza will be dry over the weekend.”

St Mary’s To Receive First Supply

The Municipality confirmed that water supply will begin to resume on Monday, starting with the suburb of St Mary’s.

In another post shared just minutes after the initial announcement, officials added:

“Water supply resumes Monday, starting with St Mary’s. We regret the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience.”

The municipality did not provide a specific time for when water will be restored in other areas such as Zengeza, Unit L, Seke, and Nyatsime. It remains unclear how long it will take to fully restore supply across the entire town.

Residents Voice Frustration

Some residents took to X to express frustration at the timing and the short notice of the disruption.

A user commented under the notice:

“You always tell us last minute. What are we supposed to do now with no warning?”

Another said:

“At least give us a schedule next time. We didn’t even have time to store water.”

Others, however, were more understanding:

“Repairs are necessary. Let’s just hope Monday means Monday this time,” one resident posted.

A Longstanding Issue

Chitungwiza, located about 30km southeast of Harare, has long battled inconsistent water supply. Many households rely on boreholes, water trucks, or makeshift storage systems during municipal outages. The affected plant, Prince Edward, also supplies parts of Harare, making any shutdown significant.

Authorities have not confirmed the extent of the damage to the trunk line or how widespread the impact will be.

Residents have been urged to conserve any stored water and report illegal water connections or leaks during the outage.