OMUTHIYA – The water ministry’s head of rural water supply Stevenson Tuukondjele said they have halted earth dam projects in the Oshikoto region due to flooding.
In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, he stated that due to the significant rainfall received throughout January and February this year, the ministry has been unable to excavate earth dams.
Tuukondjele said they planned to excavate five earth dams from January this year, but the work was disrupted by flooding as the sites are no longer accessible.
“These places are in Eengodi, Okankolo and Nehale lya Mpingana constituencies,” he added.
The designated excavation sites are currently inaccessible because they are submerged in water.
“The tractors, trucks and other machinery cannot operate in these areas because they are flooded,” Tuukondjele said.
The excavation of the earth dams will thus only resume once the rainy season ends.
Due to the abundant rainfall in recent weeks, the water situation in the region is now under control.
“People are using water from both the pipeline and the ponds,” he said.
Tuukondjele mentioned that the ministry is aware of water shortages during the dry season, and has therefore initiated additional projects.
“The ministry has drilled seven boreholes so far in the region, adding to the 15 boreholes drilled since the start of the financial year,” he said.
A site has also been handed over to a new contractor to install a reverse osmosis plant.
“The reverse osmosis plant, also known as a mini-desalination plant, has been successfully launched at Akazulu in the Nehale Lyampingana constituency,” Tuukondjele noted.
-Nampa