Windhoek residents not saving enough water

WINDHOEK residents reduced their water usage by only 25% this month, missing by far the 40% water savings target set by the municipality.

City officials on Friday raised the concern that residents were not taking the necessary measures to achieve the set water savings target.

“As residents, we need to put more efforts into water savings measures as only 25% savings were recorded against the required 40% savings target,” the municipality said in a media statement.

The city has been releasing water savings statistics every two months since a water crisis was announced last year as a result of the devastating drought the country is experiencing.

In August 2016, residents reached 30% of the target. Earlier in June, they had dropped to 28%.

In July, the municipality announced that it restricts the water flow to households using more than 40 000 litres per month to a trickle, and homeowners would be made to pay a penalty to restore the supply flow.

Municipal records show that in April, more than 3 300 households used 40 000 litres of water or more. In May, this number increased to more than 3 800 households.

In July this year, the municipality imposed a 10% increase in the basic water tariff, plus a 15% increase in the water consumption tariff.

It further announced zero tolerance for water misuse applicable during the current crisis, and penalties of up to N$2 000 on those consuming excessive amounts of water, or anyone found using water in contravention of the drought response plan.

The three dams supplying water to Windhoek, Swakoppoort, Von Bach and Omatako, have not had significant inflows in over three years, and water levels have reached critical levels.

– Nampa