RUNDU – The breakdown of three of the main water pumps of NamWater at Nkarapamwe, supplying water to Rundu, a town with 85 000 inhabitants, that became dysfunctional after being struck by lightning has directly affected the town’s water supply to several residential areas such as Millennium, Ndama and Kaisosi.
Three main water pumps damaged by lightning at the beginning of January have since ceased functioning and the town has over the past two weeks experienced low water pressure.
It will cost NamWater N$300 000 to replace the three pumps that have a capacity of 170 to 190 cubic metres per hour. The other suburbs affected by the low water pressure are Nkarapamwe, Safari, Kehemu, Donkerhoek, Army Base, Masivi, Tutungeni and Sauyemwa at the town whose taps were mostly dry last year due to a huge water debt incurred by the Rundu Town Council.
“Currently we are running one raw water pump that delivers three times less than the demand,” said NamWater regional head in the two Kavangos, Johannes Muremi, in a statement.
“The technical team is working around the clock to repair the damaged pump and the procurement of the new pumps is being handled,” he added.
For most parts of last week the town’s water taps had low water pressure due to the damaged pumps and thus the water utility is unable to pump enough water at a faster pace, but over the weekend residents experienced a bit of improvement in pressure at their taps.
“Residents should wisely make use of water and should keep their taps closed all the time whenever the water drops or stops running in order to preserve when the water flows again,” Muremi noted.
According to Muremi, the low-pressure situation is expected to be sorted out by the end of next week.
“From the 19th to the 31st, water interruptions will be experienced between 11h00 to 15h00 daily. Critical places such as hospitals and other critical places will be served with water tankers if necessary and we apologise for any inconveniences this may cause,” he said.