Solar PV water pumping study - FINAL REPORT ... - UNDP, Namibia

Feasibility Assessment for the Replacement of Diesel Pumps with Solar Pumps
FINAL REPORT: September 2006
4 FACILITATION OF PV PUMPING
This section looks at what will facilitate the use of PV pumping beyond the financial case
which was demonstrated in section 3 and commences with a high level analysis of the
approximate number of boreholes which are suitable for Namibia
4.1 HIGH LEVEL MARKET POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT 5
This section explores the potential for PVPs through looking at the number of boreholes
which are suitable for PVP operation.
The Division of Geohydrology operating under the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) within
the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development maintains a record of boreholes in
Namibia. Although it is mandatory that all boreholes are registered with the DWA, in reality
some of the boreholes drilled have not been registered. With the borehole survey of 2003 a
database of 51,500 boreholes was established.
The Resource Management Unit at the Department of Water Affairs determines sustainable
abstraction rates for the boreholes based on a holistic resource management approach
which takes into consideration the overall groundwater resources, the different types of
aquifers and the recharging of the groundwater resources, among others. The unit advises
the Directorate of Rural Water Supply (DRWS) on the appropriate abstraction rates for
boreholes in the communal areas.
Table 4.1 shows that 71% of the recorded boreholes are on freehold, privately owned land.
The communal areas hold 24% of the recorded boreholes and these are administered by the
Directorate of Rural Water Supply. The remaining 5% of boreholes are located on state
controlled land.
Table 4.1: Number of recorded boreholes in Namibia
No of Percentage
Sector
boreholes of total
Communal 12,233 24%
Freehold 36,653 71%
State 2,642 5%
TOTAL 51,528 100%
Not all of the boreholes drilled are usable. The quality measure of water is gauged by the
amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) contained in the water. Potable water has a TDS of up
to 2,000 mg/l, while the range from 2,000 mg/l to 5,000 mg/l can be used for livestock, and
greater than 5,000 mg/l is unusable 6 .
About half of the boreholes listed in the database have water quality records. The records
show that about 80% of the boreholes have water quality fit for human consumption, 10% is
suitable for livestock use only while another 10% is unusable. The chemical analysis of the
other boreholes is not known and it is not possible to extrapolate from the above data to the
overall water quality breakdown. However for the purposes of estimating the potential for
5 Information provided by Division of Geohydrology, Department of Water Affairs (DWA), Ministry of Agriculture, Water and
Rural Development
6 Atlas of Namibia, A Portrait of the Land and its People, Mendelsohn. J, Jarvis. A, Robert. C and Robertson. T, Ministry of
Environment and Tourism, 2002.
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