ONGWEDIVA – Some areas in northern Namibia that were affected by the NamWater’s stuttering supply had started to receive water by the end of last week, much to the relief of farmers whose livestock gets water from household taps.
Although the country received good rains this year, some water points in some areas have dried up, and farmers are feeding their livestock with tap water.
One such farmer from the Oshikoto region Tangeni Amunyela said the wait for water is long overdue, as they had to travel to other areas to source water for their livestock.
“There are still some areas that are without water – but for us, it is quite a relief because our livestock rely on tap water only,” said Amunyela.
Namwater’s spokesperson Johannes Shigwedha last week confirmed there were water interruptions in Omusati, Ohangwena and Oshana region due to factors such as aging infrastructure and constant power interruptions.
In a press statement last week, Shigwedha assured the Oshakati plant resumed its normal operations as of 9 November already.
He said the Oshakati plant has started to fill up the reservoirs to start water distributions to Oshana, Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions through their distribution centres of Omafo, Omakango, Ondangwa and Omuthiya.
“The situation may take up to two weeks to normalise if no major interruption, such as power and pipe breaks, do not occur,” Shigwedha said.
He cautioned that places such as Akazulu, Otatashe and Omuntele South, which are at the furthest end, may experience more interruptions than other places.
In the meantime, water rationing will continue between 22h00 and 05h00 in all three regions and other towns to build up the reservoir capacity.
The water utility is also appealing to the people to report pipe breaks and acts of vandalism timely to avoid extended water interruptions.