Namibia increases reliance on recycled wastewater as water scarcity grows
Namibia, an arid country in southern Africa, is plagued by drought and water scarcity. But, it’s also a country that continues to make progress in wastewater recycling after becoming an early adopter of the technology.
The city of Windhoek’s Goreangab wastewater treatment plant is considered a pioneering facility in water reclamation. First constructed in 1968, the plant not only treats wastewater from the 300,000 residents, it recycles it as well.
The plant has evolved along with technologies and demand. Effluent is treated in numerous steps, including dissolved air flotation (DAF), biological and granular activated carbon filtration, ozonation, and ultrafiltration. Although it was designed to process 27,000 cubic meters of sewage a day, population growth has pushed that to roughly 41,000 cubic meters, with the result of 21,000 cubic meters of treated water a day.
Increasing Drought
Drought has exacted a brutal toll on the area. Water, which has been historically scarce throughout Namibia, is becoming even scarcer. Local reservoirs have been depleted to the point that a few weeks of rain a year can’t replenish them.
Pierre van Rensburg, head of the city’s water department, told Daniel A. Gross of PRI’s The Week:
If you talk about the cradle of water reclamation, potable reclamation, everybody comes and see this. This is where it all started in 1968. […] If you look at the world, the pressing need is always in developing countries. It’s a fast-changing environment. So, you always have to be innovative to try and stay a step ahead.
Water scarcity is increasing worldwide, with 33 of 167 nations expected to experience high levels of water stress by 2040, according to a 2014 report by the World Resources Institute (WRI). In it, Namibia was named as one of several countries forecast to have “an especially significant increase in water stress by 2040,” due to rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and significant increases in demand.
As the Southern Times explains:
[A] decrease in run-off and the reduction in groundwater recharge are expected by 2020, which thus puts the country in an absolute water scarcity dilemma. In view of this worsening trend, there is a great need for the exploration of sustainable alternative sources of potable water. […] Namibia is a semi-arid country and is vulnerable to harsh climate conditions. Furthermore, the lack of readily available water in the interior of the country poses a serious threat to water availability in the country and is limiting the country’s prospects for economic growth.
Some areas of the country are dry nine months of the year, so seasonal water scarcity makes it difficult to produce animal fodder. When not enough water is available for crops, livestock is typically slaughtered to resolve the issue.
Rains in early 2017 failed to resolve the water supply problems in the capital city of Windhoek. Although the water levels of the three dams supplying the city increased from 6.1 percent to 20 percent, the city pled with residents to reduce their water consumption by at least 30 percent to prevent the need to impose emergency measures.
Protecting Water Resources
Government leaders are working on water projects to protect resources. One of these is a leak detection project being undertaken with the French government. The country reportedly loses 30 percent of its water through leaky pipes. The project is expected to cost N$7.2 million.
The Namibian government is also working with the Climate Technology Centre Network (CTCN) and the Council for South Africa’s Scientific and Industrial Research on water scarcity solutions.
When coping with water scarcity, it’s important to have a diverse water supply. Windhoek uses groundwater and harvests rainwater, but water reuse is becoming an increasingly important part of the city and the nation’s water future.
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