The bulk water supply infrastructure is owned by NamWater, a public entity operating under commercial principles.

Recharge in these areas is low and unreliable, groundwater lies at great depths and sometimes is of poor quality.

Other areas are favorable, sitting on high-yielding, very productive aquifers that contain more water than farmers and communities presently need.

[4] In 2012 hydro-geologists discovered a huge aquifer in Northern Namibia that could supply the area, where 40% of the population of the country lives, for 400 years.

Experts recommend that, during normal climatic conditions, water abstraction should be limited to the inflow from the North in order to manage the aquifer on a sustainable basis.

In the Omusati Region in Northern Namibia, four small brackish water desalination plants were installed in 2010 as part of the German-Namibian research project CuveWaters.

The plants are powered by solar energy and provide between 0.5 and 3.3 m³ of safe drinking water per day, enough to satisfy the basic needs of between 10 and 66 people.

[7] Many of the ephemeral (seasonally flowing) rivers of the Namibian interior are dammed and, according to the FAO, provide a 95%-assured yield of 96 million m3/year, based on historical rainfall data.

These dams have low safe yields in comparison to their total volume, because of uneven flows over time and high evaporation losses.

Namibia has agreements in place with Angola and South Africa about the sharing of the Cunene and Orange Rivers respectively.

[3][10] In Northern Namibia rain is relatively abundant, but it falls only during the rainy season, creating temporary natural ponds called Oshanas.

Its primary purpose was to supply the uranium mine at Trekkopje, located 48 kilometres (30 mi) inland.

[16] Reuse of treated wastewater is practiced in Namibia in many urban areas such as Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Tsumeb, Otjiwarongo, Okahandja, Mariental, Oranjemund and Windhoek.

The wastewater of 1,500 people is collected in vacuum sewers and treated in such a way that pathogens are removed, but nutrients remain to a large extent in the water.

The technology is relatively sophisticated for a rural area in a developing country, using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion followed by aerobic treatment using a rotating biological contactor, a microsieve and ultraviolet disinfection.

The municipal sector including tourism and industry used 73 million m3 (24 percent), while the bulk of water use is for agriculture and livestock.

[30] During the severe drought of 2015/16, water users in central Namibia were required to cut usage by up to 30 percent.

In May, the Coca-Cola Namibia Bottling Company stopped production due to the severe water shortages.

[34] When the city grew further, the municipality started to receive water from the Von Bach Dam 170 km north of Windhoek commissioned in 1970.

In schools, government buildings and municipal gardens, army bases and prisons the water consumption was lowered by as much as 50%.

Thus the plant's capacity was almost tripled in 2002, allowing it to provide more than a third of the city's water demand and to relieve overused groundwater resources.

[34] To retain public confidence, water quality at the Goreangab Treatment Plant is monitored on an ongoing basis after every process step.

According to Pisani "The citizens of Windhoek have over time become used to the idea that potable reuse is included in their water provision process.

In its ex-post evaluation of the project, KfW noted that the plant faced considerable technical difficulties and temporary shutdowns over a period of seven years until it started to work properly.

[40] Today NamWater refinances itself to a large extent through notes issues in the Namibian stock market.

Bulk water tariff charged by NamWater vary slightly across the country depending on the cost of supplying a specific location, but these differences are not fully passed on to municipalities.

[45] Compared to the efforts made to improve access to safe water, Namibia is lagging behind in the provision of adequate sanitation.

Private flush toilets are too expensive for virtually all residents in townships due to their water consumption and installation cost.

Many of Namibia's inhabitants have to resort to "flying toilets", plastic bags to defecate which after use are flung into the bush.

[47] The use of open areas close to residential land to urinate and defecate is very common[48] and has been identified as a major health hazard.