Africa-Press – Namibia. According to the latest Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) regional census profile, about 92.1% of homesteads in the Otjozondjupa region have access to a sustainable supply of safe, clean drinking water.
The number of households in Otjozondjupa increased by 75.5% between 2011 and 2023, with homes in urban areas having increased significantly by 96.2%. In total, the region has about 58 237 households.
The region’s population grew by 53.4% since 2011 and has seen the urban population increase significantly by 79.3% and the rural population by 23.3%, which has pushed up the demand for access to potable water sources across the region’s constituencies.
The statistics show that more than 52.9% of households in the region’s urban areas are fully piped to potable water, which serves as their main water source, while in the rural area, 48.8% of home access safe drinking water from boreholes.
Through various State-funded potable water sources, more than 94.6% of households in the region use safe water for cooking.
In general, national water demand in 2015 was estimated at about 334 million cubic meters per year and was projected to reach 772 million cubic meters per year by 2025 and 2030. About 99% and 87% of urban and rural households countrywide have access to potable water.
The latest statistics indicate that the country has a sustainable production and consumption of water resources, resulting in improved access to safe drinking water for human consumption and industrial use.
State efforts
Due to the aridity of the Namibian climate, all rivers in the interior of the country are ephemeral, meaning that they only flow when rainfall is sufficient, normally only for a short period during the rainfall season.
From the rainfall received in Namibia, it is estimated that only 2% of the water ends up as surface run-off, while 1% recharges groundwater, 83% is lost through evaporation and 14% is lost through evapotranspiration.
This reality furthermore makes it both costly and challenging to ensure water supply security to consumers.
As such, Namibia has developed and is developing unconventional measures to increase its water availability capacity. These include amongst others, managed aquifer recharge/water banking of surface water into groundwater aquifers to avoid evaporation and use during drought.
The water national policy provides that wastewater is treated to the recommended quality before it is disposed of into the environment. With the construction of dams to catch flood waters for different uses, the downstream ecosystem is maintained by releasing water from the dams.
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