Poor maintenance to blame for Walvis water woes

POORLY maintained NamWater electricity infrastructure was to blame for Walvis Bay’s water troubles over the last two weeks, according to a municipal spokesperson.

A series of power outages during this period affected borehole operations at Swartbank, resulting in a sharp decline in the water level at Walvis Bay’s primary reservoir, Mile 7. This forced the municipality to turn off the taps for half a day as an emergency measure. Emergency water points were also established. The measures were implemented on and off for at least six days over the past two weeks.The water situation resulted in frustrated community members comparing conditions to Zimbabwe, and calling for heads to roll at both NamWater and NamPower. Millions of Namibia dollars were apparently lost in production, according to various sources.The event was compared to the water crisis experienced at the town in March, after the Kuiseb River flooded and damaged electrical infrastructure responsible for operating NamWater’s boreholes.Municipal spokesperson, Nolito Marques, yesterday said the situation has normalised since Friday and that reservoirs were nearly full again. Besides a ‘little bit of rationing’ over the past weekend, consumers would have uninterrupted water supply again from yesterday, he said.He said the recent water crisis was not as bad as the one in March, when an estimated N$20 million was lost in production and damages.’This time the loss was less – maybe half – but still enough to cause a lot of frustration,’ he said.According to Marques, municipal technicians believe the glitch was caused by a short-circuit because of moisture collecting on poorly maintained installations.Marques said although the situation has normalised, there was still concern about the windy months and rainy season ahead. Both these periods are associated with power and water problems at the harbour town.’Our question is not if our water supply is fine now. We need to know that it will be good during all these periods,’ he said. ‘We don’t like break-even scenarios.’The Chairperson of the Municipal Council’s Management Committee, Jeffrey Noabeb, said during his budget speech last week that these events had a detrimental impact on the town’s economic and social activities. ‘NamWater is yet to officially approach the council on their proposed long-term solutions for consideration,’ he said.On Friday, NamWater sent out a notice saying the situation had been normalised with the help of Erongo RED. The water utility however cautioned consumers of ‘possible unforeseeable interruptions that can take place’ due to strong desert winds that may cause damage to power lines.Tommy Numbala, in NamWater’s Corporate Communications department, said on Friday that NamWater would continue to do all it could to ensure Walvis Bay has uninterrupted water supply, but declined to be drawn on what steps the utility would immediately take.adam@namibian.com.na