Water charges for Masvingo urban areas are set to increase according to council’s 2022 budget projections.
In its budget statement council said the move would enable it to recover money expended on costs.
“The cost of water treatment and distribution currently stands at US$1.20/m3 and is expected to increase to US$1.26/m3.
“In ZW$, the current cost is $163.62/m3 and is expected to rise to $226.19/m3.
“The tariff proposed for water services for the period January to December 2022 is 226.19 per m3 to enable cost recovery,” it said.
Currently council is spending US$55 000 on water treatment chemicals per month.
These figures are projected to increase in 2022 to around US$60 000 per month.
The figure translates to around ZWL$10 million.
For the whole process of water treatment in 2022 council projects a monthly budget of nearly US$850 000 per month.
This will cover water treatment chemicals, electricity, raw water, maintenance and distribution costs among some of the factors.
In its projection council says it expects the supply of critical equipment and goods such as water treatment chemicals to continue to be stable.
Any negative changes on this will resultantly impact water supply and charges again.
