Windhoek residents demand lab evidence on tap safety

The Residents and Ratepayers Association has demanded laboratory results after a suspected murder victim’s body was discovered at a Windhoek water treatment facility.

This comes after the Windhoek Municipality assured the public that the city’s water is safe, following the discovery of the body at the Gammams Water Care Works facility on Sunday.

The body of Euhudt Timbo (47) was reportedly found in one of the machines used during the water treatment process at the facility.

The police say Timbo’s body had visible injuries.

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi in a statement issued yesterday says Timbo is suspected to have been murdered and washed through the drainage system.

City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya yesterday said the machine in which the body was found is only used to separate waste from water, and that the body was discovered at the initial screening stage of the treatment plant.

“You don’t have to worry about that. This is the first stage of the treatment process at the entrance of the plant, where preliminary screening takes place and large solids and debris are removed from the incoming flow,” she said.

Amutenya said the final treated water complies with the Namibian Drinking Water Quality Standards, which are in line with World Health Organisation guidelines.

“These standards ensure the water is safe for human consumption,” she said.

Amutenya said after the water at the facility is treated, it goes through rigorous water quality testing and treatment processes at the new Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant, operated by Windhoek Goreangab Operating Company (Wingoc) to ensure full compliance with drinking water standards.

“Residents are therefore assured, in the strongest terms, that the potable [drinkable] water supplied remains safe for consumption and continues to meet all required health and safety standards.

“As such, an incident of this nature does not compromise the quality of the final treated water that comes through our taps in the city,” she said.

The Namibian yesterday reached out to Wingoc for clarity on the treatment process, but Lientjie de Klerk, the human resources officer of Aqua Services and Engineering, a founding shareholder and technology partner of Wingoc, said the organisation does not treat the water.

“The water is treated at Wingoc outside Windhoek, but it is handled through the municipality. We only supply the plant and the chemicals, and sometimes the maintenance operation services if they require it,” she said.

However, Residents and Ratepayers Association secretary general Shaun Gariseb yesterday demanded that laboratory results should prove the city’s water is indeed safe for consumption.

“Immersed corpses release bodily fluids and decomposing material which can contaminate water sources. Our water is already questionable, because it is sometimes brownish and dirty,” he said.

Windhoek councillor Ivan Skrywer yesterday said residents may not feel comfortable drinking the water after the body discovery as they are not familiar with the treatment process, but assured that the water is safe for consumption as he is “familiar with the process”.

“I am acquainted with the process from start to end and the work being put in there. I am comfortable drinking the water given how the process is done,” he said.

Skrywer said the city would provide a detailed explanation of the treatment process and the stages involved for the public’s reassurance.

Shikwambi says Timbo’s next of kin have been informed of the incident, and no suspect has been arrested yet.

Police investigations are ongoing, she says.

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