WINDHOEK – Water levels in the three dams that supply Windhoek and neigbouring towns does not look promising as the water-level has been decreasing because the inflow is very low from the erratic rainfall that could result in yet another crippling drought across the country.
According to weekly dam bulletin from NamWater, the combined water levels in the three dams stand at a paltry 23.9 percent and the level could shrink further. Swakoppoort dam stands at 20.4 percent, Von Bach dam 49.8 percent and Omatako dam at 0.8 percent.
The three dams supply water to Windhoek, Okahandja, Gobabis, Karibib and customers along the pipeline in Brakwater. City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya told New Era they continue to record high water consumption levels. “Unfortunately, not much rain has been received so far, while we remain hopeful and optimistic, the public is hereby urged to exercise water saving measures daily in order to reduce water intensive activities,” said Amutenya.
Amutenya said if a household has a swimming pool, they should ensure that it is covered as most water is lost through evaporation. She said people should use buckets to wash their cars instead of hosepipes and use brooms instead of hosepipes when cleaning paved areas or yard.
“It is also very important that the public continues to monitor their water meter on regular basis because sometimes water is wasted through undetected underground leakages,” she advised. Amutenya further said to do a meter test, one has to close all water faucets in the house and monitor if the numbers on the meters are moving. If it is observed that the numbers are moving and all the tapes are closed then it is likely that there is a leak that needs to be attended to urgently, Amutenya stated. She said the public is also encouraged to continue reporting pipe bursts to bulk water and waste water division on 2902142/2162.