Opening The Floodgates

THE news about floodgates / sluices being opened needs a closer look.

In the Namibian context, is it good to open sluices of storage facilities to get rid of so-called “excess” water or is it good to waste such a precious commodity in the way we are doing it at the moment? One would like to look beyond the notion that we do not have a choice at the current moment and releasing such vast volumes of water is the only way. There has got to be a situation where the responsible entities in Namibia, commercial or political, are seen to really making efforts to come up with practical alternatives to better manage the sporadic water occurrence during the raining season.The capacity of the water storage facilities is indicative of the fact that, somewhere, somehow, the utilisation of water in Namibia has escalated, maybe due to increased economic activities or any form of development.The population growth might also be responsible for the increase in water consumption.The possibility of building additional dams should be explored.Dams could be built some distance downstream from existing dams so that if the current dams are full and the sluices are opened they will feed the other dams which are situated some km downstream.Water can also be diverted back to the other dams via pumping systems.I know that it will be said that it will take a lot of money and that the science of hydrology will not permit such a venture and that it will be impossible (environmental concerns) to build additional and complementary dams (water storage facilities) in and around the country.Financial resources as well as tampering with nature might be advanced as inhibiting factors but not to attempt to explore the probabilities mentioned earlier might just be grounds for our inability to save ourselves.The only way to embark on these very ambitious projects is to start with the initiation processes right now.What about establishing a dedicated Water Committee comprising of a broad spectrum of representation of the Namibian society with a clear mandate of establishing better water management practices and even to submit monthly reports to the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry or even to submit the monthly reports direct to Cabinet.The committee will have to look at issues such as environmental impact studies, feasibility studies and financial assistance have to be considered and solicited.The advocacy of such projects should be aimed to enhance and sustain the quality of living of the people of Namibia, visitors and tourists alike.We all need water to survive and to invest in it is the only safe place to be.The Namibian nation must survive! E N Kangandjera Via e-mail Note: This letter has been shortened – EdThere has got to be a situation where the responsible entities in Namibia, commercial or political, are seen to really making efforts to come up with practical alternatives to better manage the sporadic water occurrence during the raining season.The capacity of the water storage facilities is indicative of the fact that, somewhere, somehow, the utilisation of water in Namibia has escalated, maybe due to increased economic activities or any form of development.The population growth might also be responsible for the increase in water consumption.The possibility of building additional dams should be explored.Dams could be built some distance downstream from existing dams so that if the current dams are full and the sluices are opened they will feed the other dams which are situated some km downstream.Water can also be diverted back to the other dams via pumping systems.I know that it will be said that it will take a lot of money and that the science of hydrology will not permit such a venture and that it will be impossible (environmental concerns) to build additional and complementary dams (water storage facilities) in and around the country.Financial resources as well as tampering with nature might be advanced as inhibiting factors but not to attempt to explore the probabilities mentioned earlier might just be grounds for our inability to save ourselves.The only way to embark on these very ambitious projects is to start with the initiation processes right now.What about establishing a dedicated Water Committee comprising of a broad spectrum of representation of the Namibian society with a clear mandate of establishing better water management practices and even to submit monthly reports to the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry or even to submit the monthly reports direct to Cabinet.The committee will have to look at issues such as environmental impact studies, feasibility studies and financial assistance have to be considered and solicited.The advocacy of such projects should be aimed to enhance and sustain the quality of living of the people of Namibia, visitors and tourists alike.We all need water to survive and to invest in it is the only safe place to be.The Namibian nation must survive! E N Kangandjera Via e-mail Note: This letter has been shortened – Ed