Namibia: Windhoek’s Drinking Water Is Safe

The City of Windhoek has denied allegation that its drinking water is contaminated. Briefing the media earlier this week, its strategic executive in the Infrastructure, Water & Waste Management department, Piet Du Pisani said the allegation has no bearing on the City’s drinking water and that the City’s drinking water is safe.

On Monday, an SMS started circulating which stated that “Windhoek water has been contaminated please boil your drinking water. Forward to your friends and family living in Windhoek. There was also an article in the paper on this”

According to Du Pisani, it is not known whether the SMS is as a result of an article which appeared in one of the weekly newspapers last week.

He said the article headlined “Windhoek City Water contaminated” created the impression that the water distributed by the City is contaminated. However, the article addressed discharge from a waste water treatment plant, and not in any way the safety of drinking water supplied by the City.

“There is no allegation in the said article about the drinking water being contaminated. The article cites a report compiled two years ago that water flowing into the Okapuka River near the Elisenheim development is contaminated,” he said.

Windhoek receives its conventional drinking water from Von Bach, Swakoppoort, and Omatako Dams and from the Goreangob reclamation plant as well as its boreholes. Windhoek is one of the few cities in the world that recycle water.

Du Pisani said that the City takes everything that has anything to do with its water serious and that the water complies with standards and is of excellent quality.

He also urged anyone who is of the opinion that stomach ailments that they might be experiencing is from drinking water to contact the City’s Scientific Services Division and samples will immediately be taken at their places of residence and tested.

“It can be confirmed that the author of the SMS that is currently being sent around warning people in Windhoek that the drinking water is contaminated has not in any way tried to ascertain any factual data before embarking on this campaign. The SMS message is unfounded, farfetched and devoid of any truth,” he said.