NamWater says Walvis has enough water

Frans Ihuhua, NamWater’s head of coastal operations, has confirmed there is “sufficient” water supply from the Kuiseb and Dorob South aquifers to supply Walvis Bay.

This follows recent concerns raised by the Joint Walvis Bay Resident’s Association (JWBRA).

“From the source point of view, there is sufficient water,” Ihuhua said on Monday.

The Namibian recently reported on the association’s council representative, Ronald Bramwell, saying the harbour town relies heavily on the Kuiseb Delta and Dorob South aquifers, but adding that these resources have been overlooked for far too long in terms of maintenance and sustainability.

Ihuhua said NamWater has active, annual maintenance plans and programmes for all schemes in these aquifers, and operations are currently “well managed”.

He said in the absence of an investigation by the JWBRA, NamWater cannot agree with claims of overlooking these resources. He said information on recent improvement projects and future development projects were, however, shared with the Walvis Bay municipality in March.

Bramwell criticised NamWater’s plan to drill more boreholes to increase the abstraction capacity from the Kuiseb aquifers.

“Why would you want to drill more boreholes if the current rate of abstraction is already above the sustainable level of abstraction from the aquifer?”
Ihuhua, however, said the abstraction of water from groundwater sources is followed per set rules of the government, and NamWater has been allocated a quota of nine million cubic metres per year to abstract from the Kuiseb and Dorob South aquifers.

The water utility currently instals an abstraction capacity of 7,5 million cubic metres per annum only.

Ihuhua further highlighted the infrastructure development undertaken by NamWater over the past decade, with past investment for the schemes totalling N$500 million, and planned projects budgeted and approved totalling approximately N$470 million.

“We’ve been upgrading all the borehole abstraction, reservoir, electricity and pipeline systems,” he said.

He said NamWater is currently commissioning one pipeline, which is “99% complete”, ready for testing between Collector 1 and Schwarzekuppe (8km) and Schwarzekuppe to Mile 7 reservoir (5,4km).

Ihuhua said there is sufficient water supply, and that NamWater is always working in collaboration with the Walvis Bay and Swakopmund municipalities to implement water demand management measures during major pipe breaks and water interruptions due to natural events.
“Even during long weekends, the festive season and major public events at the coastal towns, we have sufficient systems in place to meet demand,” Ihuhua said.

Bramwell’s concerns come soon after severe water shortages experienced by the coastal suburbs last month due to technical issues of supply reconfigurations made at Walvis Bay, leaving residents without water for approximately two weeks.

Ihuhua said this situation was, however, mitigated by engaging the Swakopmund municipality to supply Langstrand, Dolphin and Aphrodite beaches with water, using the integrated water supply system in place.

Sulphur eruptions in the ocean, however, resulted in a temporary shutdown of Orano’s desalination plant, which exacerbated the water supply challenge from Swakopmund to the suburbs.

Walvis Bay spokesperson Anita Kaihiva recognises the water challenges faced by the harbour town in recent years.

“The council has prioritised investigating solutions that can benefit our residents in terms of affordability and subsequently address the escalation of debt, as well as find sustainable ways to enhance water supply security,” she says.