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Floods aftermath disrupt main water canal in the North

Floods aftermath disrupt main water canal in the North

A critical water supply shortage is being experienced in the northern parts of the country due to damage to the 150km water canal that supplies water from Calueque through to Oshakati.

NamWater Spokesman, Johannes Shigwedha this week said the damage is so extensive that the whole canal from Olushandja Dam near Outapi to Oshakati is completely derelict and water supply to Outapi, Okahao, Okalongo, Oshikuku up to Oshakati has been disrupted.

Shigwedha said all the towns and areas South of Oshakati such as Ongwediva, Ondangwa, Oniipa, Omuthiya and the whole of the Ohangwena Region will also not have water with the exception of the Village of Tsandi in the Omusati Region and the Town of Eenhana in the Ohangwena Region.

According to Shigwedha this is mostly due to Tsandi having the option of receiving direct supply from the Olushandja Dam while Eenhaha is supplied by recently drilled boreholes.

Shigwedha said, the water utility has,over the past few days, been tried to repair the canal, but due to muddy and wet grounds, the equipment has not been very effective.

“The situation has forced NamWater to resort to harvesting the Oshana waters for purification. While this option has somehow worked better in the past, this year the Water Utility is struggling to clean the Oshana water as the quality is very bad,” Shigwedha added.

Shigwedha said out of what NamWater is able to get from Oshanas, 40% of water that comes through for purification is lost and at the end, the product that finally comes out as purified water is very little for adequate supply.

“Methods are being employed to maximize the use of available water, while other measures also have beene put in place to improve the purification process and reduce the further 40% water loss after treatment at the plants,” he added.

Meanwhile, NamWater is in the process of mobilising emergency supply to all critical areas such as hospitals and community points using water tankers and expert technicians have been mobilised and are working on a solution to restore normal water supply

“All available equipment such as excavators have been deployed to the sites where the repairs are needed and additional necessary equipment has been dispatched. A minimum of 300 people will be recruited to work on the canal,” he added.

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