Water savings stuck below 30%

Windhoek’s water savings have dipped below 30% for three weeks in a row, following previous weeks where savings above 30% were recorded with the goal of saving 40%.
NamWater and the City of Windhoek have warned numerous times that unless 40% water savings are achieved, the city’s residents will endure acute water restrictions once the dams run dry.
“The only chance of having a sustainable supply towards the end of the year is if the 40% can be achieved and maintained,” the authors of the Water Wise Windhoek Facebook page warned.
At the current water supply rate “the dams will be depleted much sooner than the planned scenario with troublesome implications for the current initiatives to provide alternative sources in time,” a City of Windhoek statement on Facebook warned yesterday.
“Saving water buys us time, time for possible rain and time for bringing alternatives sources online. We need to try harder,” the post pleaded.
The municipality’s spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, confirmed that the drop in water savings is worrying.
“We would like to urge our residents to put in more effort in water savings, wherever they find themselves.”
She said the municipality “believes that the 40% water savings target is achievable with extra efforts from all of us”.
On Monday, NamWater’s weekly dam bulletin showed that the Swakoppoort Dam level was standing at 8.2%, compared to a level of 25.9% at the same time last year.
The Von Bach Dam currently stands at 18.6% compared to 32.8% a year ago.
The Omatako Dam is almost empty, at 0.2%.
In total, the three dams that supply Windhoek are at 9.2% capacity, compared to 20.8% last year.
JANA-MARI SMITH