Allexer Namundjembo and Ester Mbathera
Some parts of the country received good rains over the past few days, bringing much-needed relief but also posing challenges for communities.
Some of the challenges include property damage and the disruption of people’s daily lives.
Despite these short-term difficulties, experts and advocates have said this is an opportunity for the people to harness the water from rain for sustainable growth and development.
Wayambekange Hamufenhu, a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocate, explained the dual impact of the rain.
“Water is one of the most precious natural resources, and despite the short-term destruction, it brings life, sustains ecosystems, and supports agriculture. To harness the full potential of this resource, we must focus on adaptation and building climate-resilient systems that help us manage excess runoff effectively,” she said.
According to her, the country’s arid climate makes water conservation and management a priority.
“Conserving runoff water through proper infrastructure and sustainable practices can turn these challenges into opportunities for growth and resource preservation. Let’s embrace innovative solutions that allow us to live in harmony with nature and protect the future of our water resources,” she said.
Tsumeb-based social justice activist, Johannes Johannes suggested that the agriculture ministry, together with local authorities, should implement laws enabling both the government and local authorities to start harvesting rainwater.
“The town councils and municipalities should come up with ways in which to harvest water so that captured water can be used in times when we need water. If you look at Windhoek, the City of Windhoek can collect flood water and use it for activities that do not need pure water, such as washing cars, and gardening. Windhoek is one of the towns that always experience shortages of water and that can be used to rescue the residents,” he said.
Johannes also proposed that the ministry construct earth dams in regions that experience water shortages.
“Regions such as Oshikoto need earth dams to harvest water. Oshikoto has experienced a water crisis for the last 7 months, and both traditional and local authorities in those areas can find ways of harvesting water by partnering with the water ministry for flood water harvest,” Johannes added.
He said that water harvesting could reduce water costs, as most local authorities would access water more easily, and less money would be required for water purification.
“If we can find a way to at least have a water storage facility in each town, we will start seeing our people setting up gardens and food production will be visible in our communities,” he suggested.
Regional councillors have also called on the ministry to prioritise constructing earth dams in their constituencies following the drought.
Okankolo Constituency councillor in the Oshikoto region, Hans Nambodi, suggested that if the government could maintain existing dams and construct more, water scarcity could become a thing of the past for residents.
Oshikoto is one of the regions experiencing a water crisis, leaving people and their animals dependent on boreholes for water consumption, which in most areas is saline.
The Ongwediva Town Council spokesperson, Ottilie Shingenge, said that the town does not harvest floodwater.
“We don’t harvest flood water, but local building contractors use flood water for construction purposes,” she said.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Harold Akwenye stated that the municipality is aware of various proposals and innovative suggestions to address water challenges in the city, including floodwater harvesting.
“At this stage, the suggestion to harvest flood water for firefighting and construction purposes has not yet been formally presented to or considered by the city’s management. It is important to note that the City of Windhoek remains committed to exploring all practical and feasible solutions that can enhance water conservation and sustainable resource management, he said.
Akwenye added that if this or any similar proposal proves viable and aligns with the city’s capacity and operational framework, it will be assessed for possible implementation.
Kuiri Tjipangandjara the managing director at Water Solution Group, said that from the perspective of water security, water conservation and harvesting are important aspects that must be explored.
Tjipangandjara noted that constructing infrastructure for water harvesting is technically challenging and costly.
“Dams that receive water cannot be built everywhere. For example, the sandy areas in North-Central and North-Eastern Namibia, owing to the huge sandy conditions, are not ideal for the construction of dams. If dams are constructed, then there are the problems associated with silting, he explained.
According to him, any dam constructed for water harvesting must be preceded by comprehensive socio-environmental impact studies.
“This action is important to ensure that the communities downstream of the dam are not negatively affected by the newly constructed dam. From such studies, one gets a favourable idea about the utilisation of the said infrastructure. This is an expensive process, but it is of utmost importance,” he added.
Tjipangandjara added that water harvested from rooftops is of small quantity and many local authorities do encourage such practice.
“However, few local authorities who abstract water from aquifers in the town boundary do not encourage such practice. For any local authority resident wishing to harvest water for domestic use, it is important for one to familiarise oneself with local authority guidelines on water harvesting,” he said.
