WINDHOEK, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Namibia on Friday inaugurated a pilot desalination plant powered by hybrid renewable energy in the southern Kharas region, enhancing Namibia's ability to adapt to the effect of climate change and address the negative social and health implications associated with consuming poor-quality groundwater in many rural communities.
The plant, which is powered by solar and wind energy, is designed to produce 487 cubic meters of water a day until 2037, as product water for the entire Bethanie Village, which is located in the Kharas Region of southern Namibia and one of the oldest settlements in the country.
Namibia has been exploring and developing different sources of water in order to ensure that all, particularly rural communities, have access to quality water, said Anna Shiweda, Deputy Minister of Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform.
"One of such sources is the desalination of underground brackish water such as the one at Bethanie whose inauguration is being witnessed today. Our target is to have 100 percent coverage of all Namibians in terms of access to the water supply. So far we are at 85 percent," Shiweda said.
Namibia is an arid country, and consequently, its water resources are very scarce, she said, adding that in most instances, the available quality water resources are often located very far from the people.
According to Shiweda, Namibia will use the pilot project to help assess the performance of such technologies to inform future water strategies, policies, and decision-making on how to improve the quality of water from poor groundwater sources for communities. ■