Zorena Jantze
THE municipal council of the City of Windhoek (CoW) is going to implement water restrictions due to a low supply of water from the three feeder dams.
In a statement issued by the office of the CEO, Moses Matyayi, it was explained that the water supply to the Municipal Council of Windhoek is affected by the three-dam system consisting of Von Bach, Swakopoort, and Omatako dams.
“These dams rely on rainfall, and in the absence of rain, there is no inflow of water. While the Municipal Council of Windhoek heavily relies on bulk supply from NamWater, it has limited resources to supplement this supply during normal and drought periods. Despite Swakopoort Dam’s current level of 72.3%, its water quality is poor, and the transfer system connecting it to Von Bach Dam is highly unreliable with frequent interruptions,” Matyayi explained.
He further added that the Omatako Dam is virtually empty, and Von Bach Dam is currently at only 26.8% capacity.
Taking into account the high evaporation rate, the available water in the combined dams is insufficient to supply Windhoek for a two-year period if there is no inflow and the Windhoek emergency borehole scheme is not activated, according to the CEO.
In light of the current situation, the most relevant water scarcity category going forward is category C, which requires the municipal council of Windhoek to enforce water restrictions to reduce water demand by 10%.
Under these measures, residents are advised that gardens may only be watered twice a week, vehicles may only be washed using buckets (no handheld hose), and swimming pools should be covered with pool covers at all times.
Other restrictions include the prohibition of water features such as fountains and the encouragement of water reuse where possible. Four block water tariffs will be adjusted to lower volumes consumed per month before penalty tariffs apply, aiming to promote water conservation.
Residents are expected to conduct daily water meter readings to identify water leakages, and no water leakage rebate will be provided, as said by CoW.
