Taps run dry in Mariental

Mariental had been experiencing a drastic drop in drinkable water due to a faulty sand filter at the Hardap NamWater Purification Plant.

The decline in available the potable water was first identified on Monday, 12 December, as an exceeding increase in demand for water from the community but after further investigation by NamWater, it was identified on 13 December that one of the sand filters at the Hardap Purification Plant was to blame for the low production of drinkable water.

“The water purification process includes filtration of the raw water through sand filters. One of the sand filters at the Hardap purification plant is not in operation due to the filter sand that was delivered incorrectly,” explained electrical control technician for Namwater Franklin Kavita.

He further explained that suppliers are rectifying the order so Mariental can once again have full access to potable water.

“The filter also has a few filter nozzles that we are awaiting from another supplier. NamWater expects delivery of both these parts during MidJanuary 2023,” he stated.

According to Mariental municipality

CEO Paul Nghiwilepo, the filtering of raw water is currently being done by only one filter due to the malfunctioning of the second sand filter.

“The operational filter is unable to singlehandedly keep up with the demand of water, which is why there is a decrease,” explained Nghiwilepo.

In an effort to allow the Mariental reservoir to restore to a desirable level, Nghiwilepo said the town’s main reservoir will be closed as from 21h00 till 05h00 until 16 December 2022.

“This measure is aimed at attempting to increase the level of the main reservoir to avoid some parts of Mariental from running dry. We have to allow for three to four hours for the water to fill up the water network or pipe lines before the water can reach our taps,” said Nghiwilepo.

The measure, thus far, has been successful, according to Nghiwilepo, who stated that at the beginning of the week, the water level was at 30%, which he described as a dangerously low number – but since the closing of the reservoir, the levels have raised past the goal of 60%.

“Given the level of the reservoir, there should be an improvement in most parts of the residential areas, except the high-lying Empelheim,” said Nghiwilepo.

Water trucks will be providing water to high-lying areas, such as Empelheim and Aimablaagte.

Nghiwilepo continues to empathise with the community, saying this was the worst time to have this type of incident.

“Usually, December and January are the times we have an increase in the usage of water because it is hot and it is festive season; we have people coming in to visit. So, it is very unfortunate that this had to happen at this time,” He sadly stated.

NamWater said the closing of the reservoir will commence until the reservoir level has recovered to a save level.

Meanwhile, the municipality will receive daily reports from NamWater on the water levels.