Water reserves safe – for now
Windhoek and its surrounds have enough water to last for the next two years – but only if residents use it cautiously.This according to Cabinet Committee Member on Water Supply, Pedro Maritz, who was speaking at State House, after a meeting with President Hage Geingob.
Maritz said that with all the work that has been carried out, together with good rains in the past season, “we can say that if we use our water sensibly, we will get through the next two years at least.”
Maritz said that the dams supplying water to the central area had received some inflow and were filled to about 50 per cent capacity, but that water still has to be pumped from underground sources in the Grootfontein area.
To address the water supply situation, a number of boreholes in the Windhoek area were sunk last year. These will be used to draw water from the city’s underground water reserves if the need arises.
He explained that the underground reserves must be seen as an underground reservoir that has to be filled from time to time, especially during good rainy years.
“However, we can’t go on using water thoughtlessly. We still have to save water.” – Nampa and own report