Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The work to repair the two pumping lines that convey water from Calueque dam into the canal that supplies water to northern Namibia is progressing well, NamWater spokesperson Johannes Shigwedha said in a statement.
Shigwedha said the two pump supply lines at Calueque dam, which were installed 35 years ago, started leaking in December 2017 just before the festive holidays, causing a lot of wastage, compromising the integrity of the entire pumping scheme and risking the security of supply to the entire north-central unit.
According to Shigwedha, the two pumps have been leaking heavily for some time now, and repairs to the first line started on 16 December 2017 and were initially expected to last for two weeks.
He said that major work on the pumping line was done already and it is expected to be completed in two weeks’ time.
He further said that the water utility is also looking into other options that will ensure quickest restoration of normal water supply in the northern regions.
“The current availability of raw water supply is not being compromised to the four NamWater purification plants and once the repair work on pumping lines is completed, NamWater will resume normal abstraction of utilising two pumps from Calueque dam to north-central Namibia,” he added.
“Work is carried out such that only one pumping line is being repaired at a time before proceeding to the next line,” he said in the statement.
He said currently the work on the first pumping line is in its 3rd week of repair, with major work on it having been completed already and it is envisaged that in two weeks’ time, this line will be completed.
Work on the second line is scheduled to commence immediately after the completion of the first.