Africa-Press – Namibia. MORE than 10 villages in Ohangwena region have had to resort to other water sources, such as wells and earth dams, after their taps ran dry last week.
The water cuts, which are said to have started last Friday, have irked the residents as no warning was issued via radio or the constituency councillor’s office, as is the norm. Okatope resident Haiduwa Erastus said they have contacted NamWater offices on numerous occasions but have been told the situation was being resolved.
“Those who can afford have travelled to other villages where a 25-litre container of water is sold for N$5, while those who cannot afford have resorted to dirty water in the dams, which is not healthy because the animals are also drinking from there,” said Erastus.
“We were told that a pipe burst somewhere in Onekwaya east when we asked NamWater and they told us they were working on it. We are not able to do anything, we can’t cook, bath or even drink water anymore. They should have at least warned us so that we could have stored up more water,” added another resident of Onhuno Martin Shetunyenga.
The situation, according to Engela constituency councillor Mathew Shikongo, has led to the vandalism of water pipes in Oshali, Onambaba and Oshindobe villages. People had broken the water pipes to salvage the little drops of water that were flowing before the water was completely cut off.
“We have not had any water for over a week now, until today and we have observed that pipes have been vandalised in the process, as people try desperately to get water. They have dug through the ground where pipes have been erected and have attached their own pipes, while others have simply opened the pipes for reasons only known to them. We have contacted water affairs, who came and fixed some of the pipes but then we returned to find that the people have gone back and broke the pipes again,” said Shikongo.
Johannes Shigwedha, the manager of corporate communications at NamWater, revealed that a dysfunctional pump was responsible for the water cut. He said NamWater could not issue a warning on time as the entity was only made aware of the situation on Sunday evening.
“Our third pump that draws water from the foredam was found to be dysfunctional. Normally, the combination of the three pumps gives us raw water intake of up to 2 400 cubic metre per hour but without the one pump we were only getting 1 500 to 1 700m3/h. This is a huge gap given the high demand season that has commenced. We are, therefore, since last night (Sunday) rationing at night to build up levels in the reservoir for distribution during the day. Another pump is being arranged from Windhoek and we are hopeful that water supply will be restored this week,” said Shigwedha.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to all our customers and stakeholders and we request for patience,” he added.
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