Goreangab Dam

Goreangab Dam
	Goreangab Dam
Tributaries:	Arebbusch-Rivier
Larger places on the shore:	Windhoek
	Namibia
Coordinates	22 ° 31 '43 " S , 17 ° 0' 33" E Coordinates: 22 ° 31 '43 " S , 17 ° 0' 33" E
	Data on the structure
Lock type:	Arch dam
Power plant output:	no power plant
	Data on the reservoir
Storage space	3.6 million m³

Bird's eye view of Goreangab Dam

The Goreangab Dam ( English Goreangab Dam ) is a dam in the northwest of Windhoek , the capital of Namibia . It is part of the suburb of Goreangab .

The Goreangab Dam was built in 1958 and has a storage volume of 3.6 million cubic meters.

Since 1967 the Goreangab Dam has been directly connected to a water treatment plant , the Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant , which was commissioned and financed by the City of Windhoek at the time to counteract the city's scarce water resources. This water treatment plant upstream of the reservoir is still the only plant of its kind in the world that treats municipal wastewater for immediate use as drinking water . The system was last brought up to the latest technological standard in 2002. 2006 Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant received the certification according to ISO 9001 .

Prehistory and origin

The original reason for the creation of a settlement on the site of today's Windhoek was, among other things, the fact that there were both cold and hot water springs here. As the population grew , so did the exploitation of these water resources. In addition, many new wells have been dug over the decades . As a result, the groundwater level soon sank , so that, as early as 1912, at the time of German South West Africa , a first well had to be built by means of deep drilling .

Before the Avis Dam was created in 1933 with a water volume of 2.4 million cubic meters, groundwater remained Windhoek's only water resource. However, because the Avis Dam has a very small catchment area and therefore could not provide any water at all for many years due to the weather, the Goreangab Dam was built in 1958. Today, the Goreangab Dam has largely replaced the Avis Dam as a water reservoir for the city of Windhoek: The Avis Dam is currently only used as a recreational area.

Until the mid-1980s, the lake was mainly used by Windhoekers for water sports events , including sailing . With the integration into the urban area and the expansion of the residential areas, however, the leisure use declined completely.

Current developments

Windhoek River Walk Project

As part of the Windhoek River Walk Project, a 20-kilometer hiking trail in the Klein Windhoek Rivier from Goreangab to the Avis Dam is planned under private initiative . This should include paved running and bike paths as well as other facilities. Expenses of 150 million Namibian dollars are planned for this.

Water quality

Agglomeration around the Goreangab Dam

In the wake of the rapid population growth in the Windhoek agglomeration , it has recently become an ever greater challenge to maintain the high water quality of the Goreangab Dam. In particular, the rapid expansion of large-scale slums in the periphery of the city contribute to the increased pollution of the water. A continuous deterioration in the water quality of the reservoir has been observed since around 1990.

Goreangab Waterfront Project

Investors have been planning to build a waterfront on Goreangab Dam since mid-2009 . This should be home to restaurants, shops, schools and doctors. According to the project management, this economic upgrading of the reservoir is supposed to create more than 4,000 jobs within 4 years and contribute significantly to the prestige of the immediately neighboring, densely populated Windhoek district of Katutura . As a customer of the new shopping centers are particularly residents Katuturas which currently their purchases mainly in the city center are obtained pursue Windhoek, by these people a close to their place of residence preferred alternative is offered to the city center.

Penduka Cultural Center

On Goreangab Dam that is, for more than 20 years, self-help -Zentrum Penduka Cultural Center , where women handicrafts, art objects and furniture from paper mache offer for sale ^[2,11] . The Penduka Cultural Center currently employs 100 people, with more than 4000 people benefiting from the work of this self-help center on a financial level (2010). The Penduka Cultural Center was originally founded by a Dutch woman and helps women lead financially independent lives. Among other things, many women with walking difficulties are employed here. In addition, the center does a lot for AIDS and tuberculosis sufferers, i.e. with regard to the two diseases that are currently the greatest health problem in Namibia.

The Penduka Cultural Center is a declared opponent of the planned Goreangab Waterfront , as the non-profit organization fears that the planned developments will have a negative impact on its work. The management of the Goreangab Waterfront project, however, is of the opinion that the Penduka Cultural Center will also benefit from the planned developments around the Goreangab Dam. Recently, the Penduka Cultural Center has tried in vain to buy the land on which the center is located.