Water supply and sanitation in Namibia

rdf:langString Water supply and sanitation in Namibia

rdf:langString Total: 91%; Urban: 98%; Rural: 85%

rdf:langString Namibia is an arid country that is regularly afflicted by droughts. Large rivers flow only along its northern and southern borders, but they are far from the population centers. They are also far from the country's mines, which are large water users. In order to confront this challenge, the country has built dams to capture the flow from ephemeral rivers, constructed pipelines to transport water over large distances, pioneered potable water reuse in its capital Windhoek located in the central part of Namibia, and built Sub-Saharan Africa's first large seawater desalination plant to supply a uranium mine and the city of Swakopmund with water. A large scheme to bring water from the Okavango River in the North to Windhoek, the Eastern National Water Carrier, was only partially completed during the 1980s. Most urban residents have access to drinking water supply, but access lags behind in rural areas. Access to sanitation also considerably lags behind access to drinking water supply. The bulk water supply infrastructure is owned by NamWater, a public entity operating under commercial principles. It sells water to the mining companies, as well as to the municipalities which in turn sell it to urban residents and businesses.

rdf:langString mostly continuous

rdf:langString Complete

rdf:langString very high

rdf:langString Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry through its Department of Water Affairs

rdf:langString Total: 34%; Urban: 54%; Rural: 17%

rdf:langString Water Resources Management Act, 2013