First rain forecast raises hopeWeather experts forecast that Namibia will indeed experience a good rainy season, but that does not mean that the storage dams will fill up.
The deputy director for the Namibia Meteorological Service, Franz /Uirab, yesterday announced the first seasonal rain outlook.
He said northern Namibia can expect normal to above-normal rainfall in the first part of the rainy season, from October to December. For southern Namibia, normal to below-normal rainfall is forecast for the period.
Uirab said from December to February, which is the main rainy season, the entire country can expect normal to above-normal rainfall.
The outlook for Namibia was compiled by the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum, which produced a climate outlook for the 2016/17 rainy season for the entire Southern African region. Namibian experts also attended this meeting.
Willem Venter, planning and water resources manager at NamWater, yesterday warned that a positive seasonal outlook does not guarantee that the runoff into dams will be good.
“Even if the seasonal outlook is accurate the rainfall prediction does not necessarily correlate with the runoff into dams and mean that we ensure water security,” said Venter.
He pointed out that that in the catchment area of the Swakoppoort Dam it once rained 450mm per year but the dam received only 20mm runoff. He said that goes for any dam in Namibia.
Venter emphasised that if no rain falls the Von Bach Dam will be empty by the middle of December.
Currently the Von Bach Dam is at 18% and is the only dam still supplying Windhoek with water, after which the capital will be dependent on groundwater resources and the reclamation plant.
According to Venter the three dams supplying central Namibia are at their lowest level since 1978.
He pointed out that Windhoek’s water demand had already surpassed its supply in 2012, which means that the central area will be water stressed until new infrastructure is built at an estimated cost of N$10 billion.
He said the resource capacity is able to supply 31.45 million cubic metres of water while the demand is 34.11 million cubic metres.
“We either have to move the demand to other areas or mobilise resources.”
According to Venter the supply shortfall by 2050 will be 76 million cubic metres.
Venter also elaborated on water tariffs in Windhoek, saying that a litre of tap water costs a mere 1.5 cents, compared to a litre of bottled water of the same quality, which costs N$12.
He also compared the price of water to milk, which costs N$14 per litre, and an even a text message, which costs 40 cents.
ELLANIE SMIT