Okahandja’s Von Bach Dam makes history

THE floodgates of the Von Bach Dam outside Okahandja were opened at 22h00 on Monday when the dam level reached 100 per cent of its capacity.

Throughout the night, 30 cubic metres per second was let out of the dam through the right sluice gate and at 08h30 on Tuesday morning the sluice gate was opened further to let 60 cubic metres per second out. The sluice gate was closed at 10h30 when the dam was at 98 per cent full.The dam was built in 1970 and it was the first time since 1974 that the sluice gates needed to be opened for flood control.NamWater opens the sluice gates every year in winter to test and maintain the gates.The control room of the Von Bach Dam is completely outdated and will be replaced this winter.The new control room will enable NamWater to monitor the dam electronically from Windhoek.Currently they have to be on site to monitor the inflow.Hundreds of people from Okahandja and as far as Windhoek flocked to Von Back to witness the opening of the floodgates – something few have seen before.The Poultry Farm and Meatco at Okahandja both transported their workers to the dam in busses to see the rare event.The J G van der Wath Secondary School at Okahandja does not have a school bus, but Prothatch Namibia lent the school a lorry so that Agriculture and Biology students could visit the dam.While most people enjoyed the moment, Uerii Mujetenga, the Chairman of the Kambekura Farmers’ Association at Ovitoto, was a very unhappy man.Ovitoto is in the Von Bach’s catchment area and the farmers are cut off from the outside world every time the rivers are in flood.They say they have addressed this problem many times and with different institutions but so far nothing has been done.There are three main rivers that cut the farmers off from Okahandja, Mujetenga explained.Sometimes schools in Ovitoto cannot get supplies and food for a couple of days because of the running rivers.He himself had to sleep between the two main rivers two weeks ago.Not only the farmers are affected, but also tourists travelling in the area.Mujetenga also said that there was no pipeline leading to the people of Ovitoto so that they too could enjoy the water that comes from their area.All the water is used in towns lying lower than Ovitoto like Okahandja and Windhoek, he said.There are about 300 farmers registered with the Association.The sluice gate was closed at 10h30 when the dam was at 98 per cent full.The dam was built in 1970 and it was the first time since 1974 that the sluice gates needed to be opened for flood control.NamWater opens the sluice gates every year in winter to test and maintain the gates.The control room of the Von Bach Dam is completely outdated and will be replaced this winter. The new control room will enable NamWater to monitor the dam electronically from Windhoek.Currently they have to be on site to monitor the inflow.Hundreds of people from Okahandja and as far as Windhoek flocked to Von Back to witness the opening of the floodgates – something few have seen before.The Poultry Farm and Meatco at Okahandja both transported their workers to the dam in busses to see the rare event.The J G van der Wath Secondary School at Okahandja does not have a school bus, but Prothatch Namibia lent the school a lorry so that Agriculture and Biology students could visit the dam.While most people enjoyed the moment, Uerii Mujetenga, the Chairman of the Kambekura Farmers’ Association at Ovitoto, was a very unhappy man.Ovitoto is in the Von Bach’s catchment area and the farmers are cut off from the outside world every time the rivers are in flood.They say they have addressed this problem many times and with different institutions but so far nothing has been done.There are three main rivers that cut the farmers off from Okahandja, Mujetenga explained.Sometimes schools in Ovitoto cannot get supplies and food for a couple of days because of the running rivers.He himself had to sleep between the two main rivers two weeks ago.Not only the farmers are affected, but also tourists travelling in the area.Mujetenga also said that there was no pipeline leading to the people of Ovitoto so that they too could enjoy the water that comes from their area.All the water is used in towns lying lower than Ovitoto like Okahandja and Windhoek, he said.There are about 300 farmers registered with the Association.