Dam levels improving amid wet weather

Hardap Dam near Mariental has received an inflow of more than 15 million cubic metres of water since the start of last week, lifting the dam’s level to 27.6% of its storage capacity by Tuesday.

The Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) reported on Tuesday that Hardap Dam’s water level rose by nearly 10 million cubic metres since Monday morning, reaching approximately 81.4 million cubic metres by Tuesday.

At start of last week, Hardap Dam’s level stood at 22.2% of its storage capacity, compared to 5.5% at the beginning of this year.

Naute Dam near Keetmanshoop received an inflow of 4.9 million cubic metres since the start of last week, bringing its level to 50.1% – compared to 44.2% a week earlier.

Combined inflows of close to three million cubic metres of water into the Swakoppoort, Von Bach and Omatako dams were recorded since last Monday, bringing the three dams’ combined contents to about 55.5 million cubic metres – about 36% of their combined storage capacity – by Tuesday (18 March).

At the end of last year, the Swakoppoort, Von Bach and Omatako dams’ total contents were 15.1 million cubic metres, or 9.8% of their combined storage capacity.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the current dam levels compared to the same period last year:

Swakoppoort 39.9% (39%)
Von Bach 39.9% (11%)
Omatako 26% (0.7%)
Hardap 27.6% (12.2%)
Neckartal 81.7% (83.7%)
Naute 50.1% (39.8%)
Oanob 32.5% (42.7%)
Dreihuk 4.2% (empty)
Otjivero Main 3.5% (4.6%)
Otjivero Silt 3.6% (1.9%)
Tilda Viljoen 0% (5.1%)
Daan Viljoen 9.1% (5.5%)
Olushandja 61.2% (37.4%)
Friedenau 46.9% (55.4%)
Goreangab 101.8% (99.5%)