The City of Windhoek has clarified that the discoloured water reported in some parts of the capital does not pose a health risk to residents.

This is contained in a media statement issued by the city on Monday.

"The issue is primarily aesthetic in nature and does not affect the safety of the water for consumption," it says.

The city says the discolouration is linked to a recent interruption in water supply from the Namibia Water Corporation following damage to the pipeline that supplies water from the Von Bach Water Treatment Plant to Windhoek.

According to the city, the interruption caused reservoir levels across Windhoek to drop significantly.

The statement says low reservoir levels caused residue settled at the bottom of some reservoirs to mix with the water, giving it a brownish appearance.

In the southern suburbs, the city says the discolouration was caused by the increased use of borehole water to supplement supply during the emergency.

"Water supply has since stabilised and reservoir levels have returned to normal. However, discoloured water may still be present in some parts of the distribution network as the system gradually flushes out and cleaner water replaces the affected water," the statement says.