Water Water: Essential and Urgent

AUTHOR: David Jarrett and Team

Editor@ RDJ Publishing and RDJ Group ChiefExecutiveOfficer

Image:maniacvectorCourtesy: Freepik

Namibia's arid climate and extensive deserts are well-known features of the country, making water an essential resource for sustaining life Within the human body, water is integral to a multitude of physiological and biochemical functions Maintaining adequate hydration levels is associated with several health advantages, including enhanced cardiovascular health, optimal kidney function, and improved skin health. Proper hydration also aids in preventing ailments like kidney stones and urinary tract infections

Water also has a myriad of essential uses outside the body that are critical to our survival, not least of which are sanitation and agriculture. This is due to its multifaceted roles in sustaining life, promoting hygiene, and supporting crop growth. For both sanitation and agriculture, the availability and quality of water are paramount

Sustainable water management practices, such as water conservation, efficient irrigation techniques, and wastewater recycling, are essential to ensure the long-term viability of these sectors while minimizing environmental impacts and ensuring equitable access to water resources.

It must be pointed out that across the country, the impact of the 2024 (current) drought is being heightened by water scarcity and poor functioning water systems Windhoek as an urban area, through its municipality (City of Windhoek), is now activating its water management plan to help manage supplies, even declaring a water emergency. The city declares that its Water Management Plan, …outlines guidelines the City of Windhoek will use to manage water supply and water use during varying supply

The situation has led to a declaration of Category C responses, with a warning that indicators point to a Category D response if water rationing is not self-imposed by the citizenry and businesses.

A Category C response leads the city to effect a reduction of greater than 10% based on the ideal/realistic demand This target is generally suggested to be met with approximately a 10 percent decrease in indoor use and a 25 percent decrease in outdoor use The steps could also include a “price signal” approach, thus creating financial incentives to reduce use while giving the city the option also for a punitive set of penalties

As part of the response, deep boreholes within the city have been activated, blending its three sources of water (borehole, bulk water [NamWater] and reclaimed water) to meet demand The impact is being felt across the societal base, will affect domestic use such as car washing and lawn care but will if not curtailed, start to impact industrial activities such as the baking industry (breads, cakes etc.), the beverage industry such as the production of Beer and Soft drinks. Construction in extreme severe cases, will also be impacted

This 2024 drought is another clarion call for urgency to implement both desalination as a national project and for the Windhoek Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme (WMARS) which is a water management project implemented in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. The project involves the intentional recharge of groundwater aquifers with treated water to replenish depleted aquifer levels and enhance water storage capacity underground The injectant is treated potable water with very strict water quality guidelines that were developed to prevent the deterioration of groundwater quality and to minimize clogging of the boreholes and aquifer.

The supplementation of the natural recharge processes with a managed aquifer recharge, WMARS enhances water security for Windhoek by creating a reliable and sustainable water supply source that is less vulnerable to climatevariability and drought conditions The project would exemplify innovative approaches to water resource management in arid and water-stressed regions, demonstrating the potential for managed aquifer recharge to enhance water resilience and sustainability in urban areasfacingwaterscarcitychallenges.

A similar impact would be had for the nation if a more rapid approach to desalination was taken, noting the abundance of solar and wind energy to drive such systems and the spin-off due to evaporation driven by aridity for the salts createdbytheprocess.

As always, the conversation continues infocus@rdjpublishing.africa

Readings: https://economist com na/86964/community-andculture/city-of-windhoek-nears-declaration-of-categoryd-severe-water-scarcity/ http://documents windhoekcc org na/Content/Document s/Water%20Management%20Plan%20-%202019%20%20rev%203 pdf

Popkin, B M , D'Anci, K E , & Rosenberg, I H (2010) Water, hydration, and health Nutrition Reviews, 68(8), 439–458 https://doi org/10 1111/j 17534887 2010 00304 x

Institute of Medicine (2004) Dietary reference intakes for water, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate National Academies Press

OpenAI (2024) ChatGPT (3 5) [Large language model] https://chat.openai.com WDMResponseIndex(WDMRI)-TheCityofWindhoekdemandmanagementcategories(extractfromCoWWaterManagementPlan-2019-rev3)

According to records by NamWater’s weekly Dam Bulletins, Namibia has a total Reservoir capacity of 1556.711535 million cubic meters (Mm3), whose present volumes stand at 871.2869022 Mm3. This means that the country’s water deficit is currently 685.424633.

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