Sand-storage dams : an alternate method of rural water supply in Namibia

The costs of establishing and installing a borehole are high, ranging from R 57 000 to R 180 000 depending on the depth of hole drilled and type of pump installed (DR WS, 1996). Because of these high costs, the Namibian Government has historically taken responsibility for the provision, operation and maintenance of rural water supply. However, in accordance with the principles advocated in the country's new Water and Sanitation Policy (WASP), an emphasis has been placed on shifting this responsibility to the communities utilising these water supplies (DWA, 1993). In April 1997, the Directorate of Rural Water Supply (DRWS) implemented a programme for the "Community Management of Rural Water Supply". This programme is to be phased in over nine years and during this time rural communities are expected to gradually take over full responsibility for the operation and maintenance costs of their water supply. In the final stage of this programme it is envisioned that these communities will be required to replace broken equipment, and provide new installations themselves (DR WS, 1996). Expecting rural communities to pay for the full cost recovery of their water supply will result in obvious socio-economic impacts on these communities (Sekhesa, 1997). However, the present reliance of many rural communities on groundwater resources gives them little alternative but to accept responsibility for the high costs associated with boreholes. This dissertation therefore, aims at assessing the feasibility of developing sand-storage dams as an alternate supply of water in the rural areas of Namibia.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Environmental and Geographical Science

Year dc:date.issued

1997

Author dc:creator

• Hartley, Peter Alexander

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Largier, John

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13881

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13881