Knysna’s peak holiday season has been overshadowed by a deepening water crisis, forcing visitors to trade long baths for short showers.
The Western Cape town, one of the province’s tourism gems, has been battling a water shortage caused by drought and years of neglected infrastructure.
Beverley Pothier, chairperson of the Greater Knysna Business Chamber, said the tourism sector has had to find creative ways to cut water use, including informing visitors about level 4 water restrictions and removing plugs from bathtubs.
“Businesses in town are no strangers to water outages, as regular infrastructure issues have resulted in an inadequate and unreliable water supply, and businesses in town have learnt to adapt,” she said.
“Where we are concerned is the impact this will have on our thriving construction industry as well as our agricultural industry, which cannot operate without access to water.”
Yes, there is a drought, but there is water in Knysna. We just need to tap into it and manage this precious resource
— Beverley Pothier, Greater Knysna Business Chamber chair
The chamber has also tapped into expertise within its ranks.
“Yes, there is a drought, but there is water in Knysna. We just need to tap into it and manage this precious resource,” said Pothier.
“Desalination or reverse osmosis, as well as extracting water from our humid air through condensation, appear to be solutions that could be ‘quick wins’.
“We have also been working on solutions to secure our water in the long term and have investors ready. Once the immediate crisis is in hand, we can continue with the long-term projects.”
In response, water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina announced a R20m intervention to stabilise Knysna’s water supply. Majodina visited the town over the weekend.
She said the Akkerkloof Dam is at 16%, reflecting roughly 10 days of supply at current usage levels, but the municipality could still extract water from the Gouna and Knysna Rivers.
“The department of water and sanitation (DWS) is offering Knysna local municipality a special emergency allocation of R20m, which, together with technical advisory support, is aimed at evaluating and identifying groundwater resources and development options to alleviate the strain on surface water supplies,” said Majodina.
The town has sufficient water to meet demand if leaks in the municipal system are reduced and per capita consumption lowered, but decades of poor infrastructure management and neglected maintenance have worsened the situation
— Pemmy Majodina, water and sanitation minister
“DWS will appoint an implementing agent for the groundwater projects it funds to ensure effective delivery. It will also provide engineering and water resource planning expertise to Knysna, including an assessment of the seawater desalination plant, which has become dysfunctional due to lack of maintenance, to determine requirements for its refurbishment.”
She said her department had secured the National Treasury’s approval to have one of its officials from the city support programme review the municipality’s water management plan and recommend improvements.
While the crisis is now evident in the low levels of the Akkerkloof Dam, Knysna’s water problems have been ongoing since 2023, Majodina said.
“The town has sufficient water to meet demand if leaks in the municipal system are reduced and per capita consumption lowered, but decades of poor infrastructure management and neglected maintenance have worsened the situation.”
The department is also supporting Knysna in planning an additional dam, she added
“Funding has been provided to the municipality to carry out feasibility studies regarding the optimal location of this dam.” — TimesLIVE
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