The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Pemmy Majodina has concluded her two-day working visit in Knysna Municipality in Garden Route District where she held a series of engagements with the leadership of the municipality and other stakeholders to assess the extent of the water challenges affecting greater Knysna and agree on urgent measures to address the crisis.

Knysna’s water supply system is presently facing critical water challenges due to a severe localised drought affecting the Garden Route belt in the Western Cape. The Akkerkloof Dam, which is the municipality’s primary storage facility, is currently approximately 16% full, translating to an estimated 13 days of usable water at present consumption levels. This is compounded by long term neglect of maintenance of water infrastructure, high non-revenue water and vandalism. The situation constitutes a serious water security crisis and warrants immediate and collective action from all sectors of society.

During her visit Minister Majodina, the Knysna Municipality Executive Mayor, Councillor Thando Matika and the technical teams from the municipality and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) conducted visits to technical sites including the Karatara River which is a significant waterway in the Knysna area, flowing southwards into Swarts; the Akkerkloof Dam, and a series of key boreholes to assess whether they can be revived looking at potential yield.

Minister Majodina also engaged with stakeholders from the greater Knysna area, including the community of Khayalethu township, religious groups, and the Knysna Local Business Chamber to assess the extent of the challenges and to develop agreement on how the challenges are to be addressed.

The Knysna water crisis, while apparent from the current low storage volume of the Akkerkloof Dam, has been ongoing since 2023. The technical teams conducted an assessment of the Knysna Water Supply System and were able to determine that sufficient water resources are available to meet the needs of Knysna if the leaks in the municipal distribution system could be reduced and the average consumption of water per capita could be brought down. For decades the municipality has not implemented sound water infrastructure asset management and has neglected the maintenance and upgrading of its water and sanitation infrastructure.

Declaring Knysna a disaster area

Minister Majodina supported the municipality for classifying the municipality as a disaster area and further said the request to the Western Cape Provincial Government to also declare Knysna a disaster area will allow government to reprioritise resources and personnel from various sectors to address the situation. It will also assist government to have a co-ordinated and comprehensive approach and response to the water crisis.

DWS short, medium, long-term support to Knysna water challenges

Minister Majodina indicated that DWS will avail an emergency relief allocation of R20 million from reprioritised water services infrastructure grants to Knysna Municipality, together with the provision of technical capacity, aimed developing groundwater resources to alleviate the current strain placed on available surface water resources in the Knysna Water Supply System.

DWS is also providing technical engineering expertise to assess the Knysna Desalination Plant to confirm its refurbishment requirements to increase the water supply, as well as to assist Knysna Municipality to strengthen its water resources planning. DWS has provided funding to Knysna Municipality for feasibility studies for a new small local dam to meet its longer-term needs.

In announcing DWS support for Knysna, Minister Majodina urged the municipality to develop a plan to reduce water leaks and install functioning water meters which are major contributors to the high non-water revenue. The Minister encouraged Knysna Municipality to explore alternate water sources such as ground water, seawater desalination, and water reuse to reduce reliance on surface water. Furthermore, Minister Majodina condemned the vandalism of infrastructure and urged Knysna Municipality to deal decisively with it.

DWS has previously provided support to Knysna Municipality to assist with refurbishment and upgrading of some of its water supply infrastructure. The department allocated R12.4 million and R7 million during the 23/24-24/25 and 25/26 financial years respectively through its Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG), for the rehabilitation of existing water networks and for water conservation and demand management.

During an engagement with the Knysna Business Chamber, Minister Majodina commended the sector for its willingness to be part of the structures set up to solve the water challenges facing the tourist town. The Knysna Business Chamber pledged to assist through mobilising its retired technical experts to contribute to resolving the water crisis.

Knysna Executive Mayor, Councillor Thando Matika, said: “We welcome and appreciate the decisive intervention and commitment demonstrated by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Pemmy Majodina, in availing special emergency relief funding and technical support to address the municipality’s water challenges. We further acknowledge and value the ongoing support and cooperation from both the Western Cape Department of Local Government and the National Department of Water and Sanitation, whose involvement strengthens the collective response to the current water crisis. The Minister’s hands-on engagement, together with the Department of Water and Sanitation’s immediate, medium- and long-term interventions, complemented by provincial support, signals a strong, coordinated and collaborative approach across all spheres of government to ensuring water security for the Greater Knysna area. This partnership demonstrates government’s shared responsibility to protect communities, sustain economic activity, and build a more resilient and sustainable water future for Knysna.”

DWS together with other spheres of government, water bodies and stakeholders will closely monitor the Knysna water situation and update citizens regularly.