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Investigation of present water consumption and awareness at Sesriem campsite and Sossus Dune lodge. Namibia
Introduction As the country’s tourism sector is growing, visits to Sesriem in the Namib Naukluft Park have increased dramatically over the past few years. Some of this was attributed to the 1996/1997 heavy rains that occurred in the area that caused heavy floods that filled Sossusvlei and snow during that winter which was most unusual. According to the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) statistics for 2009, 23 769 tourist nights were spent in the Sesriem campsite. The campsite is approximately 33 years old and provides 30 campsites for tourists, 4 ablution blocks, a filling station, restaurant, a swimming pool and a tuck shop. Namibia Wildlife Resorts employs 103 staff members, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism employs 12 staff members, The Maythe Clinic employs 7 members on a rotational basis. Sossus Dune Lodge (SDL) is a new NWR lodge completed in 2007. It can accommodate 50 tourists per night. The Maythe Clinic was completed in 2011. All infrastructures are still new and therefore leaks were not expected. No previous studies were conducted in the park before. The staffs of SDL, Maythe Clinic and Sesriem Campsite are residing in the Sesriem staff Village about 800m away from the tourist’s infrastructure. Water Supply Sesriem camp and the clinic is supplied with water from one borehole which is 200 meters away from the storage tanks that supply water to the whole camp. The camp is built within the floodplain of the Tsauchab River and the groundwater level is relatively shallow (about 22 meters). The borehole operates with a float system, pumping water in the storage tanks automatically when the water levels falls below a certain level. Namibia Wildlife Resorts provides electricity by means of generator for the borehole pumps. The water is pumped up into the tower which has a total storage capacity of 20m3. The tower holds four storage tanks with 10 000 liters (40m3) each. At the tower there is only one pipe that supplies the incoming and outgoing water to and from the tower. There are no plans available for the current pipe locations. The pipes at the old buildings are galvanised while the new infrastructure and campsites are made of plastics. No water meters existed at the camp at the start of the investigation. The Maythe Clinic and Sesriem camp does not pay for water, the only costs involved are operational and the maintenance expenses. Sossus Dune Lodge gets its water from a borehole near the Sesriem Canyon.it is pumpedinto eight plastic water storage tanks with a capacity of 5000 liters (20m3) each. The water is metered where it comes into the first tank. There were no other meters anywhere at SDL at the time of the investigation. SDL is not charged any costs for the water but covers maintenance and operational, maintenance.

Water quality According to Schachtshneider,(2000), water at Sesriem camp is high in calcium carbonate and carbon dioxide. Scaling occurs as a result of reactions between the two components in the presence of oxygen and reduced pressures (Schachtshneider, 2000). Lime deposits may increase the risk of leaks, as scaling occurs between the sealing parts of the pipe. No previous water quality tests were available for SDL. References Schachtshneider, K. (2000): Preliminary Survey Report of the Water Demand Management Study of Namibia Tourists Facilities. Windhoek. Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Department of Water Affairs. Van der Merwe, B., Bethune, S., Pieters, R., Steynberg, R., Basson, T., Groom, B., Buckle, H., Redecker, M., Hugo, L. (1999). IUCN Water Demand management Country Study-Namibia. Windhoek: Directorate Resource Management DWA, MAWRD. Waters Services, City of Windhoek