Most dam levels lower than last year

The levels of most of Namibia’s major dams are currently lower than at the same time last year, following the end of the country’s rainy season at the close of April.

The 18 main dams in the country are currently filled to 82.2% of their combined storage capacity, compared to a combined level of 89.3% for the dams at the corresponding time in 2025.

This is according to the latest weekly update on dam levels released by the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) on Tuesday.

With the exception of Naute Dam near Keetmanshoop and Tilda Viljoen and Daan Viljoen dams in the Gobabis area, the levels of all of the dams included in NamWater’s weekly dam bulletin are lower currently than a year ago.

The combined levels of Swakoppoort, Von Bach and Omatako dams, from which water for the Windhoek area is sourced, stood at 56.5% of their storage capacity on Tuesday, compared to a combined level of 86.2% a year ago.

The three dams are currently storing about 88.4 million cubic metres of water.

At the same point last year, the three dams held about 133 million cubic metres of water.

The main dam levels reported by NamWater on Tuesday, with the dams’ readings at the corresponding time a year ago in brackets, are:

Hardap 62.5% (76%)
Naute 110.3% (102.5%)
Neckartal 99.9% (100%)
Oanob 59.3% (76.5%)
Swakoppoort 81.4% (99%)
Von Bach 68.1% (81.3%)
Omatako 7.6% (72.8%)
Otjivero Main 30% (44%)
Otjivero Silt 2% (29.9%)
Tilda Viljoen 72.2% (17.7%)
Daan Viljoen 64% (59.9%)
Olushandja 56.4% (71.3%)
Omaruru Delta empty (24.3%)
Dreihuk 14.7% (37%)
Bondels 5.4% (73.2%)
Friedenau 49.3% (64.8%).

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