Knysna water crisis: Water losses worsening the situation

As Knysna grapples with a deepening water crisis, attention is turning to what happens to water before it reaches households.

With dam levels critically low and the town trying to avert a potential day zero, local leaders said massive water losses inside the system are making the situation hard to manage.

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Concerns are growing about how much treated water is being lost and how much of what remains cannot be properly tracked.

Democratic Alliance (DA) ward councillor Sharon Sabbagh said more than half of the municipality’s treated water is unaccounted for.

“In terms of our current water losses, 56% of our treated water is lost due to water leaks, burst pipes and bypassed water meters. We have 8,000 consumers that are unmetered. So how do you then manage the water consumption of residents whose meters are not even connected to the system?”

Sabbagh said that without functioning meters, the municipality cannot accurately track household consumption, making enforcement of restrictions difficult, especially under a local disaster.

Residents are being urged to drastically cut consumption to avoid day zero.