Aquifer to supply Eenhana
Following regular and increasing water shortages, three boreholes drilled into the now famous Ohangwena II aquifer will supply water to the town of Eenhana.
The tapping of water from the Ohangwena II aquifer is taking shape with NamWater planning to build a treatment plant at Eenhana in the Ohangwena Region in order to improve the quality of water drawn from the aquifer.
The plant, which is expected to be completed by May next year, will be constructed with grants provided by Germany through the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (BGR). BGR will provide 350 000 euros for the project.
At the signing of the agreement of the Eenhana de-fluoridation treatment plant the CEO of NamWater, Dr Vaino Shivute explained that the Ohangwena II aquifer is a massive body of water that straddles the border between Namibia and Angola.
“It is recharged from the mountains in southern Angola even though much of its water is dated to 10 000 years ago.”
According to Shivute, Eenhana town lies on top of the aquifer.
In 2007 it was reported that the supply of potable water to Eenhana via the Oshakati-Omakango-Omafo pipeline was starting to decline due to the increasing water demand.
Shivute said statistics indicate that the town is growing at a fast pace from an infrastructural, industrial development and population perspective.
He said the entire Ohangwena Region has a population of 240 000 people, making it the second most populated region in the country after Khomas.
According to him three boreholes were drilled into the Ohangwena II aquifer and completed in May 2017.
These boreholes are high-yield wells with an abstraction rate of 120 cubic metres of water per hour. “This essentially means 40 cubic metres per hour being abstracted, per borehole,” said Shivute.
He said despite the high-yield characteristics of the three boreholes, the water quality was of a great concern as it contains fluoride and sodium, making it unsuitable for human consumption.
“Hence there was a need to de-fluoridate the water in order to make it suitable for human consumption.”
According to Shivute, on the basis of earlier agreements between Germany and Namibia concerning technical cooperation dating back to April 1991, BGR was commissioned to finance the treatment plant.
“The water from the three boreholes will only supply the town of Eenhana.”
He said this project has been prioritised as a strategic imperative for NamWater.
Meanwhile Martin Quinger, BGR representative in Namibia, said with this last activity they want to prove that groundwater is able to supply the entire area. “The town will no longer have to rely on surface water.”
Quinger explained that it is now known that on the Namibian side, the aquifer has 20 billion cubic metres of stored water.
“However, the aquifer is shared with Angola and there is no information from that side. The recharge is coming from Angola. When we start using more and more of the resource we will be able to see the limitations.”
Deputy agricultural permanent secretary Abraham Nehemia said that Namibia is lucky to have a resource such as the Ohangwena aquifer.
“To think that it has been here all that time and people never knew about this large underground lake. The quality is not the best, but we are going to bring it to the level of potable water. We are going to everything possible to ensure that this water is protected.”
Nehemia said that this aquifer should be a long-term water bank for Namibia, but for now it will be used to supply the Ohangwena Region only.
ELLANIE SMIT
The plant, which is expected to be completed by May next year, will be constructed with grants provided by Germany through the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (BGR). BGR will provide 350 000 euros for the project.
At the signing of the agreement of the Eenhana de-fluoridation treatment plant the CEO of NamWater, Dr Vaino Shivute explained that the Ohangwena II aquifer is a massive body of water that straddles the border between Namibia and Angola.
“It is recharged from the mountains in southern Angola even though much of its water is dated to 10 000 years ago.”
According to Shivute, Eenhana town lies on top of the aquifer.
In 2007 it was reported that the supply of potable water to Eenhana via the Oshakati-Omakango-Omafo pipeline was starting to decline due to the increasing water demand.
Shivute said statistics indicate that the town is growing at a fast pace from an infrastructural, industrial development and population perspective.
He said the entire Ohangwena Region has a population of 240 000 people, making it the second most populated region in the country after Khomas.
According to him three boreholes were drilled into the Ohangwena II aquifer and completed in May 2017.
These boreholes are high-yield wells with an abstraction rate of 120 cubic metres of water per hour. “This essentially means 40 cubic metres per hour being abstracted, per borehole,” said Shivute.
He said despite the high-yield characteristics of the three boreholes, the water quality was of a great concern as it contains fluoride and sodium, making it unsuitable for human consumption.
“Hence there was a need to de-fluoridate the water in order to make it suitable for human consumption.”
According to Shivute, on the basis of earlier agreements between Germany and Namibia concerning technical cooperation dating back to April 1991, BGR was commissioned to finance the treatment plant.
“The water from the three boreholes will only supply the town of Eenhana.”
He said this project has been prioritised as a strategic imperative for NamWater.
Meanwhile Martin Quinger, BGR representative in Namibia, said with this last activity they want to prove that groundwater is able to supply the entire area. “The town will no longer have to rely on surface water.”
Quinger explained that it is now known that on the Namibian side, the aquifer has 20 billion cubic metres of stored water.
“However, the aquifer is shared with Angola and there is no information from that side. The recharge is coming from Angola. When we start using more and more of the resource we will be able to see the limitations.”
Deputy agricultural permanent secretary Abraham Nehemia said that Namibia is lucky to have a resource such as the Ohangwena aquifer.
“To think that it has been here all that time and people never knew about this large underground lake. The quality is not the best, but we are going to bring it to the level of potable water. We are going to everything possible to ensure that this water is protected.”
Nehemia said that this aquifer should be a long-term water bank for Namibia, but for now it will be used to supply the Ohangwena Region only.
ELLANIE SMIT
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