KNYSNA NEWS - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Knysna has stated its displeasure with the quality of the town's drinking water and Knysna Municipality's maintenance of the infrastructure, after residents were treated to another surge of severely discoloured water last week.

The less-than-desirable water conditions came about at the end of last week, when taps supplied by the Thesen Hill reservoir began discharging murky water once more. 

This, according to a statement issued by Knysna Municipality at the time, was due to water storage levels in the reservoir being "very low".

The DA expressed dismay at the water conditions on Friday 9 July. "The DA in Knysna is disgusted by the quality of drinking water that is being delivered to the residents of Knysna," said Levael Davis, DA Knysna Constituency chairperson. "Certain areas have now become accustomed to dirty water running through their taps, as well as excessive pipe bursts."

Residents have been complaining of murky or dirty water for some time.

In March there was an outcry over discoloured water, which the municipality attributed to the coupling of the Charlesford pipe to the Eastford pipeline.

Last month Hornlee resident Neil Davidson complained about having to consistently replace his water filters, alleging that this was due to the discoloured water and debris in the pipes. Acting Municipal Manager Phumla Makoma stated that high rainfall in Knysna as well as pipe breaks leading towards the Sunridge Reservoir were the cause.

"The consistent failure of the water infrastructure and the lack of reservoir maintenance has caused disillusionment and frustration among many residents," Davis continued in his statement. "Residents have submitted numerous complaints without success. Many excuses have been made, but this consistent failure to find a solution suggests a level of incompetence that will get worse over time if not remedied."

According to municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt, they are working on the town's water infrastructure. "Maintenance is an ongoing exercise that ensures that the network is in a suitable condition to supply water and to take the sewage to waste water treatment works. We have spent millions on preventative maintenance, upgrading pumps and dams," he said.

Bezuidenhoudt also highlighted some of the recent projects completed by the municipality, including upgrading both the Knysna CBD water and sewer reticulation systems, upgrading of The Heads' water network, upgrading of the water reticulation system in Hornlee, and finally the connection of the Charlesford water pipeline to the Eastford line to increase pump capacity from the Knysna and Gouna rivers.

According to Bezuidenhoudt, the municipality has spent a total of R71,5-million on these projects. He said that the dirty water occurs "when reservoirs run low and need to be refilled. We experience the discolouring of water while reservoirs return to normal levels."

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