The Walvis Bay mayor, Trevino Forbes, met Langstrand residents yesterday to apologise and address their concerns, as tempers reached boiling point due to an ongoing water crisis.
“I came here personally to express our apologies for the situation that you are in, and we hope to find a permanent solution to this,” said Forbes.
The mayor admitted that the fault lies with NamWater, which had informed the municipality of technical issues at the Omdel aquifer on short notice.
Forbes revealed plans to build a desalination plant between the main harbour town and its coastal suburbs of Aphrodite Beach, Dolphin Park and Langstrand to address the water supply issue.
However, several residents expressed the need for an immediate solution, pointing out that a desalination plant would not be operational for another five years.
“We have not had water for about a week now. This is about proper management, not extra infrastructure. When will we have our water?” they asked.
The mayor said water had already started flowing into the Langstrand reservoirs and the community should have access to water again from today.
A representative from the Long Beach Residents’ Association, Ziggy Hertze, emphasised to the mayor that theirs is a wealthy community that pays its rates and taxes, even subsidising other communities at Walvis Bay when it comes to services.
“It’s not like we’re asking for special treatment, but we are asking for some treatment, and water is a human right. We pay our bills, the rest of Walvis Bay has water – but we do not,” he reminded the mayor.
According to the residents, multiple meetings have been held in the past to address community issues, but no solutions have been implemented. In response, the mayor promised to call an urgent general meeting of the community, the council and municipal technocrats to address their concerns.
Last week, NamWater issued a notice that water supply interruptions and reduced water pressure at Walvis Bay’s beach suburbs, including Langstrand, Dolphin Park and Aphrodite Beach, were a result of borehole interruptions on the production side of the Omdel system.
Furthermore, NamWater experienced a temporary maintenance outage at the Orano Desalination Plant. All these systems, including the Kuiseb aquifer, are key water sources to the central coastal community and mines.
