Gobabis residents are urged to use water sparingly, with only 18 boreholes available to supply them with water.

The main water source, the Otjivero Dam, levels are at seven percent due to poor rainfall received.

Due to a water shortage, the municipality and NamWater have introduced water rationing measures to remedy the situation.

Taps are closed every day from nine o'clock in the evening until four o'clock in the morning.

The Gobabis Municipality Public Relations Officer, Frederick Ueitele, said the increasing population will lead to severe water shortages in the near future if a solution to assist the council in saving water is not found.

"Currently, the boreholes that are supplying water are 18, but as per NamWater, they haven't experienced any problems so far, but the urge is for the community to still be cautious because we don't know the rainy season and what it will bring to us. So, as a municipality, I guess we just depend on the rainy season; we might be forced to implement further water-saving measures still under discussion, but the community must wait for it to come because the specifics will be communicated when decisions will be taken with the assistance from NamWater."

Uitele added that the municipality is also struggling to replace ageing water infrastructure and draining the municipality's coffers.

Residents are therefore urged to settle their bills timely to prevent interruption of services.