Desalination Potential in Namibia

Meeting Time

Tuesday 5PM

Project Description

The United Nations projects that Namibia will consume 811.7 million cubic meters of water by the year 2030. The United Nations estimated that, as of 2012, Namibia could harvest 660 million cubic meters of water from its surface-water and groundwater sources yearly, meaning that a shortage of roughly 150 million cubic meters of water may arise by 2030. Droughts have and are expected to enlarge Namibia’s water crisis; a 2016 drought in the country forced residents to cut water consumption by 30%, affecting crops, in turn sparking food insecurity. In Walvis Bay, a Namibian coastal city, the current wastewater purification system has been criticized as being unsustainable during times of drought, so an alternative solution (namely desalination) is needed. Namibia and neighboring Botswana have previously explored saltwater desalination options in Walvis Bay, but high costs have led to inaction.

Our deliverable for this semester will be a completed, detailed 3D model of our planned prototype. Potentially, small components of our physical prototype will be complete by the end of the semester, depending on how our project schedule fleshes out. The physical prototype is to be completed by the end of the Spring 2023 semester (May 2023), along with all accompanying reports, instructions, and similar. This projection is subject to change (presumably to a Fall ’23 end of semester deadline) should testing of the prototype take longer than expected, and more adjustments of the initial prototype need be made than expected.