Residents of Usakos are battling a water shortage after critical equipment was stolen from one of the town’s main boreholes, disrupting supply to several areas.
The Usakos town council on Friday confirmed that Erongosig and Hakhaseb are experiencing a temporary water supply interruption due to a disruption on the NamWater supply line.
The Council said that while new boreholes have been successfully drilled, they are not yet connected to the main water distribution system while NamWater repairs the vandalised water infrastructure.
“The Council sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused and appreciates the community’s patience, cooperation and understanding as all stakeholders work to restore and strengthen water supply services,” the Council said.
NamWater spokesperson Lot Ndamanomhata said the borehole infrastructure was vandalised, resulting in water supply disruptions. In the meantime, measures are being implemented to supply the most affected areas, as water distributions are underway.
“Due to low water pressure, some parts of Hakhaseb and Erongosig may experience limited or no water supply. Alternative arrangements will be put in place, and a water distribution schedule with time slots will be communicated shortly while repairs continue,” he said. Ndamanomhata added that the vandalism temporarily affected abstraction capacity and, coupled with increased demand following the reopening of schools, placed additional pressure on the town’s water supply.
“Our technical team is on site, and repairs to the affected borehole infrastructure are scheduled to be completed this week. Once the work is finalised, abstraction is expected to be fully restored, with the water supply to Usakos stabilising and returning to normal levels,” he added.
NamWater also indicated that surrounding communities experienced water disruptions this week due to repairs and installation work at the Swakoppoort–Okongava water supply system.
According to the water utility, the disruption affected the Usakos and Karibib town councils, the Navachab mine, the Otjimbingwe urban and rural areas, as well as customers along the Karibib– Otjimbingwe pipeline. NamWater said technical teams were deployed to Swakoppoort Dam, where a faulty abstraction pump was identified and replaced.
The installation of a new abstraction pump was also scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, after which a more stable water supply is expected to resume.