The Bulawayo City Council has embarked on a massive sewage pipe clearing exercise following an outcry from residents over system chokes.
Ward 25 councillor, Aleck Ndlovu, said the municipality engaged four companies to assist in clearing manholes and pipes.
He urged residents to be mindful of solid waste they throw into their drainage systems.
“Some of our residents deliberately choke the system by throwing solid materials into drainage systems and manholes,” Ndlovu said.
“Some remove the metal manhole covers for scrap metal dealings.”
Bulawayo residents are complaining that sewer blockages continue to pose a health hazard in the town.
In 2021, council said an estimated US$500 million was required over a 20-year period to upgrade the city’s water and sewage reticulation infrastructure.
In 2016, the council undertook a US$37 million water and sewerage services project aimed at improving service delivery and curbing environmental pollution from raw sewerage.
