The CuveWaters project relates the alignment and implementation of innovative water technologies
to an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Cuvelai-Etosha-Basin,
which lies in Central Northern Namibia. The aim here is to improve inhabitants’ living conditions
by means of appropriate technical schemes and measures – particularly with a view to
enhancing water supply and basic sanitation (incl. waste water disposal). A focal part of CuveWaters
concerns the re-use of water, efficient use of water and utilisation of different water
qualities for different purposes (multi-resource mix). With respect to urban conditions and the
problems of adequate supply and sanitation, the prospect of a semi-decentralised infrastructure
system is under investigation, a concept which includes rainwater utilisation as well as waste
water collection and treatment. One major option for such systems, in which waste water is
considered a valuable resource, is a washing house combining effective waste water collection
(vacuum sewer) with high-tech separation techniques (generation of energy, nutrients and waste
water processing). Cleaned waste water – free of bacteria, viruses or pathogens – and fertiliser
from an anaerobic waste water treatment plant can be re-used for irrigation in small scale agriculture
to enhance food security and/or generate alternative income through the marketing of
fresh produce. Energy, in the form of biogas, can be used for cooking or lighting. On the rural
sites of the study area, adequate water supply poses a major challenge, for which three technology
options are investigated here: rainwater harvesting, solar-coupled desalination of brackish
groundwater, and managed aquifer recharge. Suitable technology options are selected for different
sites in a participatory process (cf. CuveWaters Project 2008a, CuveWaters Project 2008b).