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 alahlekeand not flow into the dams?” said a resident in a community discussion forum, asking the Ward 2 councillor, Adrian Rendani Moyo.
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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.”
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