Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Mariental Remains Vulnerable – Expert

Home Archived Mariental Remains Vulnerable – Expert

By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK Now that the “big storm” of Mariental has blown itself out and what remains is nothing but a nightmare memory and finger pointing, an expert says there is very little that could be done to the dam to avoid floods in the years to come. Retired Hydro-geologist JÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¼rgen Kirchner says whether or not some people feel that the calamity might be attributed to nature or sheer human ignorance, it is a historical fact that leaves one with little option to change things. To start with, there is nothing that could be done to the dam. “It cannot be built any higher, the only thing that could be done is to manage the water levels by monitoring.” This devastating flood that resulted from the rains can never be said to have come without warning as previous cases of 1972, 1989 and 2000 would have served as enough warning and solutions to prevent future disasters would have been undertaken. Surprisingly, the municipality still continued to allow people to build homes in obviously perilous locations, said retired Kirchner. The only possible solution that would prevent future recurrence of such floods would be measuring how much water the dam must have before the rain season starts. Should this have been the case, it would be unlikely that rainwater would have exceeded the dam’s capacity and the risk of floods would have been avoided. “The decision must be made on how much (the capacity) water the dam must contain at the beginning of the rain season.” Though not pointing a finger, Kirchner feels there is no need to blame it on the weather as Namwater would have known how much water to keep or release from the dam at the onset of the rainy season. This week, Chief Executive Officer of Namwater Dr Vaino Shivute maintained that his company could not take the risk of decreasing the levels of water in the dam because the rain conditions in the country are unpredictable. Some members of the public suggested that perhaps building a canal that would channel away water from the residential and business areas would be a solution. However, the expert says that alone would not prevent floods. Actually, the Fish River could be sufficient if only the weed in it is cleared. Previously, there was a suggestion that the weed in the river be removed as it interferes with the fast and free flow of water in the right direction. Further, the town council was advised not to build anything on the western side of the main highway but they allowed the building of houses and business structures. “The Mariental town Council disregarded instructions from Water Affairs, there is also some fault at the municipality.” Kirchner suggests that the main road be raised by two metres in order to protect it from flooding and blocking the flow of traffic, as was the case during the past weekend. Otherwise, the town remains vulnerable to major floods as evidenced by the current situation.