The three dams that supply water to the central areas have enough water to last for the next two years, NamWater chief executive officer Abraham Nehemia has assured the nation in light of a previous series of dry spells that depleted the country’s main supply dams.   
Nehemia said it should be noted that Namibia remains semi-arid, thus water should always be used sparingly as the country might not receive good inflows into its dams in the coming rainy season.

The central areas cover Windhoek, Okahandja, Otjiwarongo, Karirib, Okakarara and Grootfontein. These central areas rely on three dams, namely, Omatako, Von Bach and Swakoppoort which supply is augmented with ground water from Kombat, Berg Aukas and the Karst boreholes via the eastern national water carrier.

Nehemia made the remarks during a joint press conference with the City of Windhoek last Friday on the outcome of the stakeholders consultative meeting that took place last week Thursday. 
 The consultative workshop with stakeholders was held to discuss water supply to the central areas.
 He said the purpose of the workshop was to review the implementation of the strategies discussed at last year’s workshop and to discuss the current situation with regard to water supply to the central areas, as well as formulate appropriate interventions to ensure security of water supply.  

On medium-term measures, Nehemia said the workshop furthermore resolved to develop and enhance the water supply from Ohangwena II and Abenab aquifers, develop affordable seawater desalination and invest more in research and development to improve water supply efficiency.
 On the short-term measures, the workshop resolved to implement the transfer of the available water from Omatako and Swakoppoort dams to Von Bach dam, implement managed aquifer recharge, reduce supply from Windhoek boreholes and continue production from the reclamation plant at the current rate. This includes a strategy to sustain and manage water demand and achieve a five percent water saving target.