Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, has officially declared a water crisis and will be implementing stricter water-use regulations from June 1 2019.
According to reports by The Namibia, the announcement was made by the Windhoek Municipality’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kahimise, at a media briefing held on Monday, May 13 2019.
Windhoek has been plagued by drought since August 2018, and although the municipality has attempted to reduce the city’s water consumption, readings taken in April 2019 indicate that public usage is more than 12% above the allocation.
Kahimise explained at the briefing that the water crisis is due to several factors, the main one being the impact of the drought and the reduction in supply from Namwater, the region’s water supplier. Reports state that NamWater will only be apply to supply the capital city with “slightly above 163 000 m3 (cubic meters),” compared to the demand of 539 000 m3 per week.
Readings taken of the outlying dams in Namibia during April 2019 show the low water levels in most of them; one, Goreangab, reads as being 100 percent full, while Naute dam is 96 percent full.
Similarly to Cape Town during its own long drought, Windhoek is faced with the threat of running dry, and residents will have to adopt new water-saving methods to avoid a Day Zero. Kahimise is pleading with those in Windhoek to use water wisely.
“Kahimise thus urged Windhoek residents to implement water saving measures to avoid the city from falling into the same water scarcity situation as Cape Town in South Africa,” said a statement in the Namibian.
Capetonians visiting the country must be aware of the restrictions in place and do their part to save water in Windhoek.
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