Five boreholes supplying Kamanjab have dried up, says the village council’s secretary, Bianca Nguaiko.
“Due to drought, the five boreholes of NamWater have run dry. The two boreholes at Kalkrand, which have supplied water to Kamanjab since 1959, currently does not supply enough water due to the increasing demand of the village’s population, which is about 12 000 people,” she said on Sunday.
A few residents The Namibian spoke to were annoyed by the lack of water at their village.
“We have been struggling with a scarcity of water for the past two weeks. From Wednesdays to Sundays we don’t have water. How does one bathe wash children’s school uniforms, or flush toilets?” a resident asked.
Nguaiko said the council has contacted NamWater.
“We have drilled five boreholes at commercial farms. However, there is a legal battle between NamWater and the farm owners, which is delaying the installation of the pump and electricity.”
According to the village secretary, residents are currently supplied by the village council’s boreholes, which were drilled in 2021, and a solar pump, which was installed last year at a cost of N$85 000.
The village’s reservoir can only hold about three hours worth of water, Nguaiko said.
The reticulation of pipes from the boreholes to the reserviour cost the village council about N$ 1 million, as revealed by a capital project for 2020/21.
“The two boreholes cannot supply water for 20 hours as they need to be switched off. NamWater has made a water truck available that is currently supplying water to hostels, schools and the clinic,” Nguaiko said.
She said the electrical cable of an additional borehole at the local airstrip, situated nine kilometres oustide Kamanjab, has been stolen several times.
On Sunday, Kamanjab constituency councillor Nico Somaeb brought in a team of agriculture experts to assess the situation and assist Kamanjab with drilling two additional boreholes next week, Nguaiko said.
“My office is urging the community to be patient, as a lasting solution is found by both the Kamanjab Village Council, NamWater and the Kamanjab constituency councillor’s office,” she said.
Residents have been urged to use water sparingly and to pay for these services so that the council can buy solar panels, pumps and pipes after the drilling of the boreholes.
Nguaiko said she appreciated community members assisting the village council staff with the drilling of boreholes.
