The Municipality of Omaruru has resolved to address its 117-year-old sewerage system and get all its residential and business areas connected to the main sewerage line.

Currently, residents are served by two trucks that collect sewerage waste throughout the day.

Under the current financial year, the municipality has constructed a large sewerage pump station under phase 1 of the sewer and reticulation upgrade project.

Phase two is now underway to construct the sewerage lines and lay pipes to connect the main line.

"In terms of the whole town sitting on septic tanks, this is really a challenge. The whole idea of the septic tank or line network is to ensure that we eliminate the septic tanks that we have in the town. Our trucks are running 24 hours a day, just to ensure that they pick up all this waste from house to house. The challenge is quite high, and we are trying to see how best we can, but this is one of the things that is put in our strategic plan as one of the key priorities that we are going to look at because it has not been seriously looked at in the past years. I think this is the time that the council is taking very seriously," said Valentines Shindongo, Omaruru Municipality CEO.

The council has further awarded a tender for hydrological studies to determine the increase in water usage capacity in the town.

"The council has also awarded a bid for hydrological studies. As we are trying to assess, as you see, the town is growing, we have to assess to increase the capacity of water. As we speak, the bid is already out; it was already awarded. The bidder who was awarded the tender is now busy on the ground to do the hydrological studies and also conduct the environmental impact assessment. We want to increase the water level for the residents as well as for other activities."

The sewer and water reticulation project is scheduled to be fully completed within five years, benefiting a population of over 40,000 residents.