{"id":2099,"date":"2026-03-18T10:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:04:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:04:55","slug":"bulawayo-dams-spill-coltart-delighted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=2099","title":{"rendered":"Bulawayo dams spill, Coltart delighted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>by <em>MELUSI MHLANGA &amp; MANGALISO TSHUMA<\/em><br><strong>BULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has encouraged residents and visitors to experience the scenic beauty of the Hillside Dams following their overflow for the first time since 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The development marks a significant and uplifting moment for Bulawayo and the wider Matabeleland region, which has faced years of limited rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking to social media, Mayor Coltart shared the milestone with residents, expressing both pride and excitement at the rare occurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Lower Hillside Dam in @CityofBulawayo is spilling. It started spilling at 6am this morning, the 17th March 2026. Not a big deal for those who live with better rainfall but noteworthy in Matabeleland. I think the last time it spilled was 2017. Utterly glorious,\u201d Alderman Coltart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He further encouraged the public to take advantage of the moment and visit the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you live in or are visiting @CityofBulawayo and need your spirits lifted, try to visit Hillside Dams, which are simply glorious at present,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mayor\u2019s update was warmly received by many, with residents and observers praising his active communication and engagement with the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gagu Lizwelethu commented: \u201cYou making us miss home Mr Coltart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Zonke Masiyamhuru also commended the mayor\u2019s leadership and accessibility: \u201cIt seems, @DavidColtart is better and more hardworking than the Harare mayor. Most of the time, David updates Bulawayo residents on many issues related to the city. In Harare, the mayor threatens to demolish people\u2019s durawalls and houses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mayor Coltart\u2019s timely updates and positive engagement continue to strengthen his connection with residents, highlighting his commitment to keeping the public informed while celebrating moments of progress and natural beauty in Bulawayo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by MELUSI MHLANGA &amp; MANGALISO TSHUMABULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has encouraged residents and visitors to experience the scenic beauty of the Hillside Dams following their overflow for the first time since 2017. The development marks a significant and uplifting moment for Bulawayo and the wider Matabeleland region, which has faced years of limited rainfall. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,9,44,3],"tags":[220,416],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-pick","category-featured","category-latest-updates","category-local","category-news","tag-bulawayo","tag-lower-hillside-dam"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-300x193.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-768x495.jpg","large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-1024x660.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-1536x990.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1.jpg","post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"administrator","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"by MELUSI MHLANGA &amp; MANGALISO TSHUMABULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has encouraged residents and visitors to experience the scenic beauty of the Hillside Dams following their overflow for the first time since 2017. The development marks a significant and uplifting moment for Bulawayo and the wider Matabeleland region, which has faced years of limited rainfall. [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Editor's Pick","Featured","Latest Updates","Local","News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":54,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1.jpg",2048,1320,false],"medium":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-300x193.jpg",300,193,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Lower-Hillside-Dam-Bulawayo-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"administrator","author_link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?author=2"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-2\">Editor&#039;s Pick<\/a> <a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-5\">Featured<\/a> <a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-9\">Latest Updates<\/a> <a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-44\">Local<\/a> <a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-3\">News<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2101,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions\/2101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}