| Precarious water situation at Ongwediva |
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| Written by Lukas Haufiku | |
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The town of Ongwediva has for the past two years been without an operational water storage facility, a situation brought about by excessive leakage to the reservoir. With the reservoir currently empty, the town only receives water from the Oshakati treatment plant via an off-take on the Oshakati-Ondangwa pipeline. The 7500 cubic metre reservoir at Ongwediva was taken out of operation during 2006. The town recently suffered a spate of water problems.
Engineers at NamWater said Ongwediva cannot immediately be provided
with water if no water is supplied into the Oshakati-Ondangwa pipeline,
or if the pumps serving Ongwediva fail due to a breakdown or a power
failure.
The recent interruptions in water supply to Ongwediva were a result of the problems experienced with the production of clear water at the Oshakati treatment plant caused by deposits of sand in the Calueque-Oshakati canal. The inability of this plant to supply the required amount of an acceptable quality of water is further aggravated by the fact that the 75 000 cubic-metre clear water reservoir at Oshakati has also been taken out of operation for maintenance purposes. This has resulted in less water storage being available at Oshakati to breach supply interruptions. On 4 February, NamWater’s Civil Design department presented a report, which recommended that the reservoir be replaced. The design and construction of a new reservoir with the same capacity will take 18 months, and is estimated to cost N$15 million, according to an internal memo. NamWater is left with only two short-term options; either using the leaking reservoir or improving the water supplied through the Oshakati-Ondangwa pipeline. Filling the leaking reservoir to only 20% of its capacity will reduce leakage to a level where the impact on the surroundings can be handled and could bridge a 6-hour water supply interruption. This is the cheaper option and the utility estimated it would cost not more than N$100 000. Approached for comment, Tommi Numbala, PRO of NamWater said, “NamWater is considering building a new reservoir for the town, but the matter is still under discussion. The reservoir is old and repairing it will cost about N$1.5 million, and will only last for about six years.” The second option, which is regarded as inevitable, is to ensure the availability of water in the Oshakati-Ondangwa pipeline on a continuous basis. But for this to happen, the water supply problem at Oshakati must be solved first. The 9000 cubic metre clear water reservoir at Oshakati must be kept full at all times, and the 75000 cubic-metre reservoir must be put back into operation as soon as possible. NamWater also plans to install standby pumps and generators. The large Oshakati reservoir should have been operational by now, according to Numbala, “but the maintenance process was hindered by the rainy season, nevertheless, the work is nearing completion”. |
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