HARARE, Zimbabwe
(AP) -- City authorities in Zimbabwe's second largest city said
Saturday they were appealing to home owners to flush their toilets at a
specified time as a way to unblock sewers after days of severe water
rationing.
Bulawayo City Council has asked its
more than 1 million residents to flush their toilets simultaneously at
7:30 p.m. when water supplies are restored. City officials say
"synchronized flushing" is needed to clear waste that would have
accumulated in sanitary facilities which will have been affected by days
of water outages.
Bulawayo's two main supply
dams have been drying up because of drought conditions prevailing in the
arid, southwestern part of Zimbabwe, raising fears of worsening water
shortages before the rainy season starts in November.
Synchronized
flushing was first introduced to Bulawayo two decades ago at the height
of a drought that ravaged the southern African nation.
Residents
told The Associated Press late Saturday that they weren't "aware" of
the new system the city council was proposing. They said the whole issue
wasn't properly communicated to them.
Old
water pipes have not been replaced in years which saw world record
inflation before the formation of a coalition government between
longtime President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Power and water outages are common in Zimbabwe following years of political turmoil and economic meltdown.
Civic
organizations said any moves by city authorities to solve water and
sanitation problems dogging the southwestern province were welcome, but
were also awaiting communication from them.