Martin Endjala
The Outjo Municipal Town Council has restored water supply to residents after weeks of shortages and rationing caused by the failure of an electrical pump during a thunderstorm.
The Outjo municipality’s spokesperson, Rivonia Roman confirmed this to the Windhoek Observer last week.
During the water crisis, the council mobilised water supply trucks to assist residents.
Roman said that three trucks were deployed, two were provided by NEXUS and one by the municipality.
“Groundwater levels are low. New boreholes are required to provide enough water to residents, and since the booster pumps burned, the council had to order new ones to be installed,” she explained.
Despite the restoration of water services, Roman advised residents to exercise caution due to the ongoing low water levels in the reservoir dams.
She warned that failure to conserve water may force the council to impose stricter measures to manage the situation.
The municipality continues to implement water rationing periodically to allow levels in the reservoirs to recover and reach adequate capacity.
Outjo is one of a few towns in Namibia with good annual rainfall of about 450 mm and 87 rainy days per year.
According to the NamWater report of 2020/21, during the past two decades, the Otavi Mountain land (aquifer), which includes Kunene south or Outjo, has received below-average annual rainfall.
