The Central Area of Namibia (CAN) is facing a scarcity of water supply due to recurrent droughts and unpredictable rainfall exacerbated by climate change.

This statement was made by Abraham Nehemia, Chief Executive Officer for the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) during a site visit to the Von Bach Dam on Wednesday.

The dam, which is situated near Okahandja, has a maximum capacity level of 48.56 million cubic meters but is currently standing at about 5.4 million cubic meters of water. Nehemia stated that CAN is supplied with water primarily from an integrated water supply consisting of three interconnected dams.

‘As of Monday, 06 May 2024, the water levels in the three dams systems namely Omatako, Von Bach and Swakoppoort are at 18 per cent of their combined full supply capacity, compared to 37.2 per cent at the same time in 2023,’ said Nehemia.

He further stated that the available water resources will not be enough to sustain two rainy seasons if water demand management by all stakeholders and the pu
blic is not implemented.

Nehemia said that NamWater and the City of Windhoek have embarked upon an initiative aimed at raising awareness towards water demand strategies, adding, ‘The initiative shall run for a period of six months with the aim to meet the agreed-upon water demand management targets to ensure that we breach two rainy seasons.’

‘Water supply from surface ground and reclamation has successfully supplied water to CAN, however, due to variability and increasing water demands caused by the increase in socio-economic activities, the capacity of water resources to supply will remain limited in the CAN,’ Nehemia stated.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency