How it began
In October 1968 the municipality of Windhoek put the Goreangab water reclamation plant into operation, and the city became the first in the world to produce drinking water directly from municipal wastewater. The plant followed pilot testing between 1962 and 1965. Lucas van Vuuren, who designed the facility, is remembered for the line that water should not be judged by its history, but by its quality. In 1968 Windhoek lay in South African-administered South West Africa, now Namibia.
Before it existed
Windhoek sits in central Namibia, one of the driest countries in Africa. The city depended on groundwater and on surface water. After World War II its population grew sharply and groundwater was over-abstracted, and a drought in the 1950s limited the surface water available. Water rationing was introduced, and an Executive Commission concluded that reusing water was an economical way to meet current and future needs.
How it works
Effluent from domestic wastewater is treated in a series of steps until it meets drinking water standards, then goes to the city supply without first passing through a river or aquifer. The operator describes the current process as ten steps. Critical control points are defined throughout the process, not only for the final water. If a reading at any stage is out of range, the plant goes into recycle mode and distribution stops until the correct values are restored.
What changed first
When the first plant was commissioned, no national or international regulations for direct potable reuse existed. The City of Windhoek therefore developed its own rules, based on hazard analysis and critical control points, which were stricter than the national and international recommendations of the time. The original plant, with a reported capacity of 4,800 cubic meters per day, gave the city an additional source of drinking water for more than 30 years.
What lasted
The scheme showed over decades that reclaimed wastewater can be supplied safely. Sources report that in more than 50 years of operation the water has met standards and that no health problems related to reclaimed water have been recorded. Residents encouraged the city council to expand the scheme, and Windhoek is cited as the first and longest-running example of direct potable reuse.
Where it stands today
The New Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant, completed in 2002, replaced the original and is run by the Windhoek Goreangab Operating Company. The 1968 plant produced drinking water until 2001; it was refurbished and now produces irrigation water. The new plant was built because all naturally available water sources around Windhoek had been fully harnessed.
