NamWater started pumping water from Olushandja Dam's South wall outlet into the Etaka-Uuvudhiya canal 130 kilometres away.

The water will benefit livestock that are affected by drought in the Oshana and Omusati regions.
 

This year, the governors of Oshana, Omusati, and Oshikoto regions took a trip to Olushandja Dam and the Etaka canal and requested NamWater pump water from Olushandja Dam into the Etaka canal in response to the water crisis.

NamWater then approached the office of the Prime Minister, and N$3 million was made available through the Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Ministry to pump water into the Etaka canal.

"This Etaka canal has been for the past 20 years occasionally being used to transport water to Uuvudhiya and Oponona areas when there is a serious drought in the area, and this year we also have a drought, and we are pumping water into the canal so that it can get water to the grazing areas where we have a lot of cattle. You still remember in 1991/1992 when he had a drought and we lost so many cattle that there were carcasses everywhere in Ombuga, and from there we learned a lesson and we have to be on top of things to make sure that water gets there before it gets worse, says NamWater CEO, Abraham Nehemia."

Nehemia says there was an urgent need to pump water into the canal, and they could not wait for the whole canal to be cleaned as farmers in the affected areas were desperate for water for livestock.

"There were some years when we finished and we were only able to get water into the canal at the end of November/December, when it was already starting to rain. That is why this year we approached it differently and decided that we were going to put water in the canal as early as possible to make sure that we saved the lives of both people and livestock."

Omusati Governor Erginus Endjala welcomed the gesture.

"This money was sourced somewhere to make sure that it provides water for everybody, but then you find those people who are trying now to make their own small intakes, and this is not very much appreciated."