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Namwater managing shortage

The Namibia Water Corporation is banking on its 3 dam system to ensure that water in the Omatako, von Bach and Swakopoort dams do not go to critical levels.

The dams supply Okahandja and Windhoek with water. Namwater spokesperson Tommi Numbala spoke to the Economist this week to dispel any fears of a possible water shortage.
“We have a 3 dam system which consists namely the Omatako, Swakopoort and von Bach dams. Water can be pumped from the Swakopoort and Omatako dams to von Bach and vice-versa. This management makes sure that water does not go beyond critical levels,” said Numbala.
A water engineer who asked not to be named told the Economist that the von Bach dam cannot supply water fit for human consumption if water levels drop significantly. According to him, if von Bach’s capacity goes below 20%, water emanating from the dam cannot be used any further. At present, the von Bach and Swakopoort dams are at 35.7% and 34.8% capacity levels respectively while the Omatako dam is at 6.6% according to the latest dam bulletin.
A rain outlook provided by the Namibia Meteorological Service for the period January-March 2015 has suggested that central Namibia should expect normal to below average rainfall.

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