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02 - Reclaiming wastewater in Windhoek, Namibia |
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Project
name
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New
Goreangab water reclamation plant in Windhoek
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Keywords
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Waste
water re-use to drinking water
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Start
of project
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1968:
first version
2002:
revision and upgrading
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End
of project
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In
operation
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Contact
person
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This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
and http://www.berlinwasser.net
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Short
project description / project function
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Namibia
is the driest country below the Sahara. Windhoek is the capital city of
Namibia and has approximately 200'000 residents and a yearly increase of the
population of about 5%. Windhoek has no fresh water resources and the climate
is very dry and unpredictable.
Since 1968 the treated waste water is
added to a heavily polluted reservoir and a source for drinking water. In 2002
this treatment plant was rebuilt and the waste water effluent is now
the primary source for drinking water. This is the only place in the world
where this happens.
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Summary
of experiences
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The
plant has been in operation and is being run by a private company and
provides for 30% in the total water demand. No outbreaks of any disease have
been reported or related to this treatment facility. http://www.berlinwasser.net (i.e.)
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Project
benefits
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Good
drinking water for the residents, no discharge of wastewater, fewer
groundwater extractions.
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Project
level
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Mature
technology (on a world scale you can say a pilot project)
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Financial
scale
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Construction:
15 million US$
Operation
costs: 0.76$/m3 (in total 21.000m3/day)
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Environmental
conditions
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Arid,
semi dessert
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Altitude
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Height
above sea level: about 2300m
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Description
of special local conditions
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Very
dry, no water surface resources in a radius of 500 km
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Why
is this ecological engineering
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It can be discussed if this is ecological engineering, but nevertheless it is
included here, as it shows the possibilities of converting wastewater to drinking
water in a very dry area. This can be considered as a relevant solution to
increase sustainable use of
water (recycling).
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 December 2007 )
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