Water banking ensures uninterrupted supply

RUNDU - The practice of managed aquifer recharge by the City of Windhoek ensured that the supply of potable water to Windhoek residents remained uninterrupted for the past five years.

MAR, also known as water banking, is a tool to replenish aquifers and increase underground water storage.

In a media statement on Monday, to mark the annual World Wetland Day and International Day of Forest, Windhoek City councillor Austin Kwenani said the city currently has seven established recharge stations where water can be injected into the underground aquifer to enhance the groundwater replenishment process which is otherwise slow under Namibia’s arid conditions. He said the previous drought period leading up to 2020 showcased the effectiveness of the management of Windhoek’s aquifer and other surrounding aquifers adding that the abstraction of groundwater shifted from a supplemental role to the main conjunctive supply source.

“The MAR method contributes significantly to the recovery of groundwater levels after periods of drought and high dependencies on the aquifer system to provide potable water,” he said.

The concept of artificial recharging the aquifer, he stated dates back to 1990 when the council explored various water supply options to augment Windhoek’s future water requirements.

The councillor further said that groundwater also plays a role in the preservation of Windhoek’s forests and is the only source of water for the city’s indigenous camelthorn forests in the so-called Camelthorn belt north-east of the capital. “World Wetland Day and International Day of Forests affords the city an opportunity to reflect on past, present and future efforts which must prioritise the protection of ground and surface water,” he said.

This year’s commemoration, which took place on 1 April, was held under the theme ‘Groundwater Too Precious for People, Forests and Wetlands - Making the Invisible, Visible’.