Zinwa appeals to winter crop farmers on irrigation

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has appealed to winter crop farmers to have water abstraction arrangements so that the authority may reserve irrigation water in dams as the country is hit by water shortages.

Most parts of the country received normal to below rainfall during the 2018-2019 rainy season and according to the authority, dam levels decreased by 0,41 per cent owing to little or no inflows and an upsurge in withdrawals.

In an interview, Zinwa communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said farmers need to secure water as the winter cropping season is set to increase pressure on the already depressed dams.

“The commencement of the winter cropping season is set to increase pressure on the already depressed dams hence we appeal to all farmers to ensure that they have the relevant water abstraction agreements to have irrigation water reserved for them in the dams,” she said. 

Mrs Munyonga said due to decreasing water levels in dams, Zinwa will intensify monitoring water use and bring to book illegal water users.

“No water shall be reserved in the dams for unregistered users while Zinwa shall also intensify its monitoring activities along river channels to ensure that all illegal water use is eliminated,” she said. 

Mrs Munyonga advised other raw water users who are still to renew their water abstraction agreements to ensure that they do so.

“Other raw water users, who are still to renew their water abstraction agreements following the commencement of the water year on April 1, are advised to ensure that they do so as any use of water from Zinwa managed dams without the necessary documentation constitutes a criminal offence under the Water Act,” she said.

The Zinwa communications and marketing manager said the authority has put in place a number of drought response strategies meant to alleviate the plight of people in areas that will experience water distress.

“Such measures include drilling of boreholes, demand management, creating awareness on the importance of water conservation, releasing water from upstream dams to boost levels in the downstream ones and creating of off-takes along major pipelines,” she said.

On Thursday, Mrs Munyonga said Bulawayo would be among areas that would be hard hit by water shortages until the next rainy season towards the end of the year.

“As at April 23, 2019, the national dam level average was 68.6 per cent marking a 0, 41 per cent decline from the previous week. Bulawayo, Beitbridge, Gwanda, Gokwe, Mutawatawa, Chiredzi, Rushinga, Shurugwi and some parts of Masvingo Province are going to be largely affected,” she said. – @tamary98.