Bindura’s Water Crisis Deepens Amid Mining Pollution and Drought Pressures

Bindura faces a deepening water crisis as mining pollution, drought and infrastructure delays choke supply, leaving residents with weeks of little to no water (image source)

Bindura Municipality has blamed upstream mining operations by a Chinese company for worsening a water crisis that has left residents receiving minimal or no supply for weeks. The local authority says the mining activities are polluting raw water sources and causing blockages in key channels feeding the town’s treatment plant, compounding the impacts of a severe drought affecting much of Zimbabwe.

In a notice to residents, the council said water sources had “declined significantly,” resulting in extremely low flow at the abstraction point, repeated plant shutdowns, and a near-collapse of normal distribution schedules. “This situation has severely impacted water supply across the entire municipal area,” the notice read. “The crisis is primarily driven by climate change-induced challenges and mining activities upstream of the water abstraction point and subsequent blockages, which are beyond our control.”

Bindura mayor Jacob Gwature said unregulated mining was posing both environmental and financial burdens on the already strained municipality. “Generally, unregulated mining activities have compromised our water quality and quantity, and we unfortunately end up incurring high water processing costs,” Gwature told NewsDay. He confirmed the council had engaged the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the police to intervene, enforce regulations, and curb harmful mining practices in the catchment area.

The crisis has been worsened by delays in the long-awaited Masembura Water Project, regarded as the permanent solution to Bindura’s chronic supply shortages. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has begun releasing more raw water as a stop-gap measure, and the municipality has been relying on community boreholes. But Gwature admits the system falls far short of meeting daily demand, which stands at 18 megalitres. “I thank our residents and ask for their continued patience and support as we navigate with speed this project’s final stages and permanently address Bindura’s water woes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bindura’s main water source, the Masembura Water Plant, has been temporarily shut down for renovation, further straining supply. The municipality assured residents that outstanding works on the Masembura Water Transmission Line would be completed by the end of this month.

“This milestone will usher in a new era of improved water supply for the greater Bindura Municipality. The project is now 90% complete,” the council said. It added that the US$3 million project — a public-private partnership between the municipality and Freda Rebecca Mine — remained central to the town’s long-term water security. Until the plant reopens, persistent drought, mining-induced pollution, and infrastructural delays continue to choke Bindura’s water system, leaving thousands of residents facing daily uncertainty over a basic necessity.