NamWater wants to replace old pipes that are restricting the supply of water to rural residents of northern Namibia. The water corporation’s area manager Thomas Shiikwa made the observation during a media engagement session at Oshakati in the Oshana Region. Shiikwa was responding to media queries on the requests of rural residents in the Omusati Region’s Etayi Constituency for the water supply to be improved as it has been inadequate since May. He explained that the pipes were old and unable to handle the water pressure, hence the need for them to be replaced with bigger pipes once funds became available. The NamWater official said the decrease in water supply was also a result of an increase in the number of pipes to individual homesteads catered for by the main pipeline in the Oshivanda shaNghatanga area. Another contributing factor was the poor rains received in the area over the last season. Speaking to Nampa at the village earlier, the headman, Simon Hamunyela said, the residents needed more water, especially for their livestock, as the few earth dams in the area had dried up.