City Tells Residents to Flush Toilets at Same Time - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.

The city of Bulawayo in South Western Zimbabwe, home to over a million people, has been told to flush their toilets at the same time, seven thirty PM, every few days.

Due to a massive drought, reported to be the worst in this area over the past four years, water shortages in the city have led to plumbing problems like sewage backups and pipe bursts.

The city’s suburbs are rationed water every 72 hours, so the flushing would coincide with the supply of water.

A city spokeswoman said: "Water rationing may be extended to 92-hour periods. The situation is very serious." She added that another two dams might dry up before the end of the dry season in November.

Plans for a pipeline to carry water from a nearby river are finally being implemented after the Chinese government pledged to contribute 2 point 2 billion dollars to the project. The pipeline would still not be finished for another two years, and in the meantime, the citizens are going for up to two weeks without running water.