By Deon Schlechter
WINDHOEK – With exceptionally good rains experienced late in February, March and April the water levels of the main dams in the central areas, the south and Gobabis are all substantially higher than this time last year.
The latest NamWater dam bulletin indicated Naute near Keetmanshoop – the biggest dam in Namibia – is 73.8 percent full compared to 68.4 percent last year at the same time.
The level of the Hardap Dam near Mariental has increased to 70.9 percent full, compared to 40.6 percent in June in 2013. The Swakoppoort Dam is 59.9 percent full, compared to 59.5 percent in June last year. Water levels in the other dams are however starting to drop as winter gradually sets in.
The sub-total for dams in the central areas has improved to 78.6 percent after the average levels dropped to a mere 48.7 percent during the corresponding period last year.
The levels of the Von Bach Dam and the Omatako Dam, the Friedenhau Dam and the Oanob Dam have dropped slightly.
The Swakoppoort Dam is now 59.8 percent full, compared to 66.1 percent last year at the same time. The Oanob Dam is 50.2 percent full (57.4 percent last year) and the level of the Daan Viljoen Dam has dropped to 82.5 percent after it shot up to 100.5 percent in April.
While the improvements of this year were greeted with excitement, Namibia’s central areas are by no means out of the woods as far as water supply is concerned.
Grave concern has been mounting about the ever-deteriorating situation of water levels in Namibia’s major dams and this prompted the City of Windhoek since the beginning of the year to warn residents about the precarious situation and make every drop count.
Reminding Windhoek residents of water restrictions that were imposed already last year, the manager of corporate communications at the Windhoek Municipality, Joshua Amukugo Amukugo, said that the water supply situation was being reassessed after the end of every rainy season.
He warned that tighter restrictions might be on the cards if the situation remained unchanged. The current water restrictions imposed by the Windhoek Municipality include a ban on the use of hosepipes to wash cars, the mandatory covering of private swimming pools and no watering of gardens between the hours of 10:00 and 16:00.
Government recognised an imminent water crisis in the central areas at the beginning of the year, launching a N$7.6 million pre-feasibility study to investigate all alternative water sources which could be developed to secure a long-term, affordable water solution for these areas as well as parts of the Omaheke and Otjizondupa regions and Cuvelai Delta.
Launching the project in partnership with the City of Windhoek, NamWater and various local water experts, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, stressed that Windhoek’s run-away population growth and economic activities had prompted the urgent study. The total water storage in the three central area dams plummeted to a mere 36.6 percent in February this year, compared to the 91 percent in February 2012 and the 63.3 percent in February 2013.
The average level now stands at 47.4 percent, compared to 48.7 percent at the same time last year. The average levels for dams in the south – the Naute, Hardap and Oanob – now stand at an average of 67.1 percent of full capacity, compared to 45.9 percent at the same time last year. Dams in the Gobabais area are on average 67.1 percent full, compared to 45.9 percent last year this time.