City appeals for million-person toilet flush to unclog sewers
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.
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.
The last time i tried that (adding water to a clog) i was not a happy camper. Â ever flush a clogged toilet? Â then you know what happens. good luck to those towns people who are down in the low spots.
A crap, the superflsuh failed now what?
 @lee986321 Swim for it!
Many will be straining to meet the deadline.
@wrench if your straining that bad gets some ex-lax.
They need to host a Super Bowl. Â That should take care of it.
As Lynyrd Skynyrd once sang "Oooh that smell, can't you smell that smell".......
Too bad Dick Clark is gone, he could have done the countdown!
The headline tricked me.I thought the million toilet flush was Portland.I was thinking more ridiculousness coming from the Mayor and the city counsel.
In other news, at 7:35, the national weather service issued a flash flood warning for Tucson.
@beernpizza But it's not a synchronized flashing........big difference.
INCOMING !!!!!!
Â
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(hope it works)
Synchronized Flushing.....the next new Olympic sport.
@WendyTeagarden - wonder what the medal will look like?