Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Minister, Calle Schlettwein on Monday officially inaugurated the 5 000 cubic metre storage reservoir and defluoridation plant at Eenhana. In 2010, the Namibian Government, with assistance from the German Government, conducted an investigation on groundwater potential in the vicinity of Eenhana. “That investigation led to the confirmation of abundant water resources in what is now popularly known as the Ohangwena II Aquifer,” Schlettwein stated during the inauguration. The infrastructure includes a water storage reservoir, deflouridation plant and three boreholes drilled by NamWater at 350 metres into the aquifer. “The drilling was successful. However, there was another problem as the water quality did not meet the standard that would classify it as suitable for human consumption,” Schlettwein noted. He added that the level of fluoride in the water at a range of 3.0 to 4.0 milligram per litre was too high and as such, the German government made N$5,6 million available for NamWater to install a treatment plant that can remove excess fluoride from the borehole water to make it suitable for human consumption. He said NamWater spent N$24 million of its own funds towards the construction of the storage reservoir, installation of pumps and other equipment, as well as the construction of effluent brine disposal ponds. Eenhana has been getting its water from Oshakati via Omafo and that water originates approximately 300 kilometres from the Calueque Dam in south-west Angola via an open canal conveyance system. Meanwhile, NamWater’s chief executive officer, Abraham Nehemia, indicated that the facilities were constructed as some of the infrastructures installed by the Government in the 1990s can no longer supply sufficient water. This, Nehemia said, is due to major growth in water demand caused by economic and agricultural development in the regions. Eenhana mayor, Omri-Onn Kavandje on his part noted that Eenhana is unique when compared to other local authorities in terms of water supply as it no longer needs to rely on the Calueque water supply via the Oshakati-Omafo pipeline. “We now rely on the Ohangwena ll Aquifer for a constant supply of freshwater, courtesy of the boreholes on this site,” Kavandje said. -NAMPA