Residents of Noordoewer Settlement in the ||Kharas Region are fed up with the unreliable water supply that has been going on for two years now, despite its location along the Orange River. 

Speaking to NBC News, the residents expressed frustration over what they labelled a continuous poor daily water supply to the settlement. 

They maintained that the settlement's reservoirs run out of water overnight. 

The chronic poor water supply, residents bemoaned, affects basic daily activities such as cooking and laundry and creates an unhygienic environment. 

Residents Daniel Ihemba says repeated complaints to authorities have fallen on deaf ears.

"We often experience  water shortages, and we are struggling. People at the road camp also damage water pipes to access free water, affecting residents like us who pay for our water bills. Many households have taps in their yards, but they are forced to walk to the canal to fetch water."

A primary school with 800 learners is also severely affected by the situation that has created an unhygienic environment in the schools. 

Margaret Waters is the principal of EHW Baard Primary School.

"The bone of contention is the purification plant that is not big enough in order to store enough water for all the Noordoewer residents. I think they did not keep track of the populace and the development in Noordoewer itself and also those specific developments that require enough water."

NamWater's Regional Head of the Business Unit South, Hieronymus !Goraseb  has acknowledged the inconvenience and hardship caused by the water crisis.  

"Basically what has happened is that population growth and industry growth have  overtaken our plant production capacity. With the result of that, now we are only able to abstract from the river, raw water, and treat it at the rate of 21 cubic metres per hour, whereas the town currently is consuming about 40 cubic metres per hour."

!Goraseb said the water utility has been forced to implement scheduled water supply cuts to manage the water treatment plant's capacity. 

He revealed larger pumps and variable-speed drives are expected to be installed next week to improve operational stability and reduce water supply interruptions associated with blockages. 

The regional head highlighted the treatment plant extension to double its production as a key priority.