The Etaka Dam in the Omusati Region has become a place of leisure for the local people.

During noon and afternoon hours, people are found either bathing, fishing or simply walking near the NamWater dam that stretches 14 kilometres from north to south.

Even though the primary purpose of the dam is to feed NamWater’s purification plants at Ogongo and Oshakati, it is equally of great benefit to livestock farmers and local horticulturalists.

Most local people prefer to do their laundry at the dam.

That was the case with Omakuva village resident, Munomo Momuti, 38, and her siblings in an interview with Nampa recently.

They waited the whole month for their clothes and blankets to pile up before tying them up in bundles and then departing to the dam to do laundry.

Wednesday was their D-day.

It was very cold and they had to sit in the sun waiting for the cold weather to subside before they could fetch water in their basins and start washing.

The young ones are seen from a distance running around the dam, waiting on Momuti to direct them of what is next.

Momuti said that they wait until they have a pile of blankets and clothes before they could go for laundry each month.

Momuti indicated that they all have responsibilities to carry out whilst cleaning their belongings in order to finish on time.

“The tap water that we collect is used for human consumption,” she said.

She added that before heading back home, they will make sure that they have taken a bath first.

What is fascinating is how the blanket is placed on the grass and the little one uses a thick soap bar to rub it around the blanket before pouring water on the blanket.

“We have to ensure that our laundry is completed before the end of the day, as we might never get a chance to come back again,” she said.

NamWater has been pumping water into the Calueque-Oshakati canal continuously feeding the Etaka dam.

NamWater Chief Executive Officer, Abraham Nehemiah, indicated that they are going to install pumps to ensure that water is pumped from Etaka to Uuvudhiya.

“We are only waiting on a power cable that is missing, that was stolen by the community which is ordered,” he said.

Nehemiah said as soon as the cable is here, Nehemiah said that they will be connected to the pump station and water is then pumped into the Etaka earth canal.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency