The Akkerkloof Dam has risen to 19.6% capacity as of 20 January, up from 18% the previous day, offering a glimmer of hope in Knysna’s ongoing water crisis.
However, municipal authorities caution that the increase does little to alleviate the severe pressure on the region’s water infrastructure.
According to the municipality’s latest update, water resources across Greater Knysna remain critically strained.
“Water resources and infrastructure across the municipality remain under severe strain. River flows are still low, and the rainfall received is insufficient to significantly improve dam levels or reverse current water security challenges, particularly as water consumption remains unacceptably high,” the municipality stated.
Officials emphasised that strict and responsible water use by all residents and visitors remains essential.
Increase attributed to inter-dam pumping
Ward 9 Councillor Sharon Sabbagh explained that the modest rise in the Akkerkloof Dam is primarily due to pumping operations from the Glibb Dam rather than recent rainfall.
“[Glebe Dam] is the off-river dam. They are pumping from the Glebe Dam to Akkerkloof, which is helping. So that’s augmenting the levels of the Akkerkloof dam,” Sabbagh said.
The councillor revealed that the municipality failed to capitalise on significant rainfall that occurred approximately a week to ten days ago due to infrastructure problems.
“The Charlesford pump station was not working optimally. There was a pipeline break and the one pump, the second pump was not working according to capacity,” she explained.
This malfunction meant the municipality lost the opportunity to benefit from sandbagging operations at the weir.
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Critical supply situation persists
Municipal data shows water abstraction on Tuesday, 20 January reached 13 704 kilolitres with consumption at 10 006 kilolitres.
This was up from 12 373 kilolitres abstraction and 9 200 kilolitres consumption the previous day.
No rainfall was recorded on Tuesday, while the Balancing Dam sits at 64% capacity.
Sabbagh estimates the current dam level translates to approximately eleven days of water supply until day zero.
She expressed concern about recent municipal claims that consumption has declined, questioning the accuracy of these measurements.
“I caution on that because I’m not sure how they measure the consumption has declined when we have 8,000 of the 11,000 prepaid water meters that have been bypassed. So I don’t know how they determine the consumption of the town when it’s not metered,” the councillor said.
She clarified that there has been minimal pumping from the Charlesford pump station to Akkerkloof, with most pumping going directly to the water treatment works.
Long-term dam proposal questioned
Following a recent visit by Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina to Knysna, discussions have emerged about a proposed new dam project.
Sabbagh confirmed that presentations over the weekend included plans for the Crace Valley Dam.
However, she emphasised this is a long-term solution that won’t address the immediate crisis.
The councillor strongly questioned the logic of building a new dam given the municipality’s current infrastructure challenges.
“My thoughts are, why would you be going ahead and building a dam now when 56% of your treated water is lost? Surely, that should be addressed first and foremost,” she said.
The 56% figure represents portable water losses from burst pipes, leaks throughout the town, and bypassed meters contributing to unaccounted water.
Sabbagh argued that existing infrastructure, if properly utilised, could adequately serve the town’s needs.
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Infrastructure priorities and borehole challenges
The municipality faces additional complications with alternative water sources.
Sabbagh mentioned that boreholes drilled in 2010 have been left mismanaged but could potentially be brought back online.
However, she noted that transporting borehole water to the treatment works would be costly, as the water requires treatment before distribution.
While acknowledging that boreholes could help mitigate day zero, Sabbagh stressed they don’t represent a medium-term solution due to the expense involved.
“I think that our main concern needs to be mitigating the water losses and getting the bypass meters back on and connected so we can at least manage our consumption and then deal with punitive measures and enforcement of punitive measures in terms of those that are over-consuming. We can’t be doing that if we don’t know what the consumption of water is,” she maintained.
The municipality continues to call on residents and visitors to use water responsibly as the town navigates its ongoing water security challenges.
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