Water flows to the capital
Kombat water channel system operational from July
Outdated water pipe systems are being systematically replaced across the country.
The three dams that supply Windhoek with water currently stand at a combined level of 36.1%.This according to NamWater chief executive Abraham Nehemia.
Windhoek's water comes from the Omatako, Von Bach and Swakoppoort dams, and this year's dam levels are significantly lower compared to last year's 59.2% due to lower rainfall, he said.
However, according to him, there is no cause for concern as stakeholders met on Monday and agreed on interventions.
The municipality of Windhoek will deliver 8.5 million cubic meters per year from its boreholes, and the Wingoc water recycling plant 5.84 million cubic meters per year.
Furthermore, the municipality will help to reduce residents' water consumption by 10%, he said.
Most of the additional water - about 12.01 million cubic meters - will be delivered from the northern groundwater sources in the Kombat and Berg Aukas area via a canal.
Repairs to this canal system, Nehemia said, already began last year from Kombat and Grootfontein to the Omatako dam, along with repairs to the canal from Okakarara to Omatako.
He said about two weeks of work still needs to be done to complete the system from Okakarara to Rietfontein. "We will be able to pump water to Windhoek from 1 July."
Pumps from the Omatako Dam to Von Bach are ready to direct the water along the route, he added.
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Emphasis was placed on repairs and the replacement of outdated water pipe systems during Monday's meeting.
Pipes burst due to the pressure of large volumes of water carried over long distances. "It must be replaced, there is no other way," Nehemia said.
NamWater is investigating the possibility of systematically undertaking repairs that can be done at the same time to various parts of the national water pipe system.
Large parts of the system were built in the sixties and seventies, he added.
The state enterprise is asking for the private sector's help to achieve this goal.
Nehemia said it works like this elsewhere. For example, along the coast mines contribute to the construction of pipelines, and then win back their investments through tariff adjustments.
Financing has always been a challenge for NamWater, which has not been able to gain any adjustment approved by Cabinet in the last four years. Cabinet has yet to decide on this year's application to adjust rates, he said.
Nehemia said that progress is being made with the government's plan for a new desalination plant along the coast. "Land for the new plant has already been identified and surveyed. It is adjacent to the existing Orano plant to limit our footprint in the desert."
According to Nehemia, the Erongo Regional Council is providing the land and it will not be transferred on a commercial basis, which will limit costs.
Studies for the new plant already began two years ago and an agreement was reached with NamPower on power supply. The financing model is currently being completed.
"We've been losing on this thing for 20 years, but this time I'm confident we'll achieve something tangible by the end of the year," Nehemia concluded.