04 Mar 2014

The department of water affairs has resorted to treating waste water in an effort to meet Botswana’s water demand of 240 million cubic litres per year.

Speaking at a full council meeting recently, the department’s regional manager for north, Ms Bogadi Mathangwane, said although Botswana had secure water, there was still a deficit of about 60 million cubic litres annually.

Ms Mathangwane explained that 40 per cent of reserved water went to the agricultural sector followed by the mining sector, which consumed 20 per cent. The remainder was for domestic and other purposes. This, she said, explained the need to re-use waste water to avoid shortage.

She said although the northern part of Botswana received plentiful rains this year, which filled all the dams to their maximum capacities, the worrying issue was that southern Botswana did not receive enough rains and dams were almost empty.

She said her department had already introduced the reuse of waste water in Gaborone and would roll the programme to the rest of the country.

She added that importing water from neighbouring countries was another option for solve Botswana’s water problem.Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia have an agreement to address water shortages among themselves, and soon, southern Batswana will be drinking imported water.

Cllr Shadrack Nyeku Phillip Matante East said before Botswana pumped in water from neighbouring countries, it should use water from local rivers to reduce costs.

Cllr Nyeku said according to research done by a United States research team, it was found out that water that was considered clean in Botswana was in fact not safe for human consumption. He said if authorities failed to treat dam water, then recycled water from toilets would be a health hazard.

Cllr Ben Mpotokwane of Donga the use of recycled water would be a solution to Botswana’s thirst. Even if it does not become potable water, the recycled water could be used in mining, agriculture and construction.  ENDS