NamWater is planning to develop the new Olushandja Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Omusati Region to increase water supply to the western and southern parts of the region.

NamWater Chief Executive Officer Abraham Nehemiah says in the past 5 years they have been experiencing serious water interruptions, especially during the dry season.

Thus, he says, there is a need to find an amicable solution to the problem.

Design consultants for the new Olushandja Treatment Plant have already been appointed.

NamWater also plans to develop the Outapi Treatment Plant to increase water supply to the canal areas in Omusati and refurbish the entire canal from Olushandja to Oshakati .

The Ogongo-Oshakati pipeline and pump station will also be replaced.

"We have new pumps at Calueque that have been installed. We have really advanced with modern gel contractors who are going to commission those pumps so that early next year they should be commissioned so that we have sufficient raw water from the river to our pumps in Oshakati.''

NamWater is also at an advanced stage of a tendering process to set up a new treatment plant at Oshakati and address the water deficit of 13,000 cubic meters per hour, that they currently experience.

''The problem we have in the south-east area of Oshikoto is that we have a bottleneck of the pipeline from Ondangwa to Omutse-gwonime, the tender for that is also finalised now, so we are only in the waiting period of ensuring that if there are any other contractors who are having issues with the tender that will also be issued very soon, then we put up a new complete pipeline from Ondangwa to Omuthiya so that the water shortage in the area will be something of the past.''

In the Ohangwena Region, Namwater is finalising its Ohangwena Aquifer Project Two with KfW, through which they mean to bring a big pipeline from there to the Omutse-gwonime pipeline, to link up with the system in Oshikoto for effective water supply.

''We are also working hard to finalise the pipeline from Oshivelo boreholes coming to Omutse-gwonime so we will have their sources of water in Oshikoto areas, coming from Ohangwena, coming from Oshivelo, and coming from Calueque, and these plans we want them to have completed in four to five years, and this something of having problems of water during the rainy season be arrested and be something of the past.''