AN OVERVIEW & FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION
The Civil Engineering Division is made up of two sub-divisions; Civil Design and Civil Construction. The division is responsible for the design and construction of civil engineering infrastructure for water supply throughout Namibia. It is also responsible for the dam safety monitoring of all NamWater dams.
The Civil Design subdivision is equipped with a team of engineers who carry out in-house designs. The same engineers also carry out contract supervision and management of contracts that are awarded to private contractors.
Certain NamWater construction works are carried out in-house by the Civil Construction subdivision. This subdivision has a number of construction teams fully equipped with construction plants and fleet that enable it to competitively construct works at a lower cost to NamWater as compared to private contractors.
The division’s engineers serve as principal advisors to the company on civil engineering related technical problems.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE DIVISION AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROCESS OF SUPPLYING WATER
The design components being carried out in the division are as follows:
- Water pipelines network analysis and designs
- Structural designs of buildings and concrete works such as pump stations, water treatment plants and reservoirs
- Geotechnical investigations
- Pipeline routes and various sites surveys
- Designs of various hydraulic structures and components on water canals
- Redesigns and technical specifications of rehabilitations of infrastructures undergoing maintenance and reengineering
The construction subdivision executes the actual construction of the infrastructure designed by the Civil Design sub-division.
A number of designs and construction works for the company are carried out by private consultants and contractors and in that case the civil engineers are responsible to supervise and manage such contracts.
NamWater is currently responsible for the operation of 15 dams that are critical for storing water for supply to the consumers. Civil Engineering is responsible for the structural safety of these dams and carries out regular monitoring and evaluation of the dam’s safety. The results of the monitoring and evaluation processes often lead to maintenance and improvement projects that the division then carries out or assign to other engineering divisions in the company.