FiveRand residents resort to riverbed water

Okahandja residents occupying unserviced municipal land in the fast-growing informal settlement of FiveRand have resorted to using waste water from the NamWater industrial pipeline flowing into the riverbed adjacent to the settlement. While bathing and washing their clothes in the riverbed, a group of children said although they are not sure if the water is safe for humans, it is a reliable source for their daily usage as the community does not have enough water points. The Namibia Water Corporation’s Chief Strategy Officer, Kadiva Hamutumwa indicated that the water is untreated and therefore unfit for human consumption. She said residents are constantly urged not to utilise the water other than for gardening purposes