Namibia PDNA 2009 - GFDRR

Annex 1
Water Supply and Sanitation
Pre-disaster Situation
Water Supply: Coverage of the piped water supply system is
high, with more than 80 percent of households connected
to piped water supply networks in towns and 23 percent of
households in rural areas. In addition, 67 percent of the rural
population is provided with potable water by boreholes. The
quality of drinking water supplied through piped schemes and
boreholes is acceptable. Households connected to the piped
water networks pay fees on average of N$6.5 per m3 while
water served from public taps is free. Rural communities that
get water from boreholes are organized around communitybased
management organizations and contribute to operation
and maintenance costs through cost recovery systems.
However, the water supply remains vulnerable in rural areas
where villages are located far from water points and often
prefer to use traditional surface ponds. In the Caprivi Region,
villages located along (or near) the Zambezi River get water
supply directly from the river.
Sanitation facilities: Access to safe excrete disposal systems in
rural areas was poor prior to the floods. An average of 67
percent population uses non-improved facilities (i.e. pit latrines
without slab, open latrines, shared toilet between households),
and 15.9 percent of the urban population (especially those in
informal settlements), and 80 percent of the rural population
still defecate in the open. Only 29 percent of the population is
connected to public sewerage systems. Waterborne diseases
remain a public health problem. The coverage with improved
sanitation for public institutions like schools and health facilities
revealed the need to address the gaps. A large proportion of
about 341 schools (out of 1,641 nationwide) that do not have
any latrines are located in the flood-affected Regions. However,
a more in-depth assessment would be needed to ascertain
fully the status of existing latrines in schools.
Waste water and urban drainage: In the affected areas, public
sewerage systems only exist in large towns like Oshakati,
Ondangwa or Rundu. Most of the cities and villages are located
in low and flat areas, but the rain water drainage system is very
poor and existing outlets and ditches are poorly maintained
and silted-up. In urban areas it is not rare for buildings or houses
to be built in a flood-prone area due to the absence of proper
development planning; consequently, these structures hinder
natural drainage or reduce considerably the storage capacity
of the natural basin.
Damage and Losses Assessment
Water suppl:. In general the damage to the piped water supply
infrastructure was localized in few points or portions of the
water systems. In regards to the piped scheme, water supply
networks in Oshikoto, Caprivi and Kavango did not experience
any damage. Disruption of the water supply was noted in
few localized points of the piped scheme in the Omusati,
Ohangwena and Oshana Regions due to the leaks incurred
by damage to the infrastructure and the delay in repairing
the damage until the flooded area was accessible. 21 The
main interruption occurred when the main pipeline between
Oshakati and Ongwediva/Ondangwa was damaged where it
crossed the main Cuvelai channel east of Oshakati. However,
Namwater managed to install an emergency pipeline in a short
time. Although it did not directly affect the water consumers on
the piped network, the canal from Angola to Oshakati, which
is the main bulk water supply carrier in Cuvelai, was badly
damaged and washed away in many points and not functioning
for a period of months, in 2008 and in 2009. In such a scenario,
Namwater keeps water supply going by taking water from local
oshanas, but this involves additional purification costs, possible
increased health risks and major emergency repairs after the
rainy season. In rural areas the number of boreholes and public
taps damaged was very insignificant, but access also was limited
when these infrastructures were under water, or when access
was hampered by surrounding flood waters. Table 38 shows
type of damage by component.
21 NamWater notes that much of the disruptions to water supply
were minimized by taking water from local oshanas, which has
been a strategy used to bridge the time until water supply is
restored to pre-flood conditions. However, this strategy comes
with additional purification costs, possible increased health risks
and a cycle of emergency repairs after every rainy season. This
situation necessitates improved planning and design to avoid this
scenario in the future.
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Namibia POST-DISASTER NEEDS ASSESSMENT