Government to step in on water crisis

KNYSNA NEWS - National and provincial government is set to assess and evaluate Knysna's water crisis in terms of Section 154 of the Constitution, which could result in the Disaster Management Act being applied to solve the crisis.

The decision that the intervention was necessary was made in an urgent special Knysna Council meeting, brought by the municipal administration on Tuesday 2 December.

Section 154 requires national and provincial governments to support and strengthen the capacities of municipalities.

A delegation from national and provincial government will be in Knysna today, Thursday 4 December, to assess and evaluate the water situation, according to DA Ward 10 Councillor Sharon Sabbagh.

Depending on the outcome, Knysna's water supply could face action by the two higher spheres of government

It is believed that two critical reports by the municipality on the status of 113 sewerage pumps and 66 water pumps, key to resolving the issue, are still outstanding.

The council also resolved to increase water restrictions from Level 3 to Level 4.

Crisis
In an earlier statement on Tuesday, National Council of Province (NCOP) Western Cape Chief Whip Rickus Badenhorst said Knysna was on the brink of "a full-blown water, sanitation and refuse removal crisis as the tourist season approaches".

Badenhorst, who was part of an NCOP Select Committee oversight visit in August, said on Tuesday that Knysna's broken coalition leaves the town waterless.

The Western Cape was one of two provinces in September that voted for Knysna to be placed under administration. Seven provinces voted against the implementation of the measure, sought by Western Cape MEC for local government, Anton Bredell.

In spite of the Select Committee's findings, the NCOP voted against Knysna being put under administration.

Sewerage
In his statement, Badenhorst said: "Residents and businesses are enduring unreliable water supply, repeated sewage spills, malfunctioning pump stations, waste collection failures, and escalating environmental hazards."

Knysna DA Ward 10 Councillor Peter Bester highlighted the issues raised by Badenhorst and said, even on Tuesday 2 December, Waterfront Drive was flooded with sewage after a burst pipe.

Bester said the latest water quality assessment showed the E.coli readings were "much the same" and were not coming down, and that the municipality was paying R400 000 a month hiring a "honeysucker" truck. "Instead of paying a contractor we can have our own fleet out there within a few months."

He said the municipality is spending money on crisis management instead of putting it into construction to fix the crisis.

According to Bester, he speaks to the municipality continuously, raising these questions, but "they talk circles around that: they vow to implement fixes that are in the pipeline, but nothing gets done".

Open for business
Knysna Municipality communications manager Christopher Bezuidenhout reaffirmed "that Knysna is open for business".

"While it is well known that the municipality faces challenges related to ageing infrastructure, Council is actively addressing these matters through a range of planned interventions.

Burst pipes, although unfortunate, are often unforeseeable and can result from changing ground conditions. When such incidents occur, our teams respond promptly to restore services as quickly as possible," said Bezuidenhout.

He said the municipality was in the process of appointing a contractor to undertake repairs to the conveyor belt at the waste transfer station.

"We have also increased the number of containers and frequency of waste deliveries to the regional landfill site to reduce the existing backlog."

Confirmed failures
Badenhorst said that 50% of Knysna's water is lost to leaks, including water bypassed by prepaid meters due to fraud. "Over R11m in revenue is lost from broken water meters on bypass because meters and UIUs cannot be replaced, while inadequate systems are in place to monitor and manage these losses, worsening the crisis."

He said the NCOP Select Committee's oversight visit in August confirmed these systemic failures, "particularly the severe deterioration in water and sanitation infrastructure and ongoing contamination of the Knysna Estuary, a lifeline for tourism and the local economy."

DA councillor Peter Bester has issued a statement saying Knysna is once again facing a pre-season collapse of essential services.

This comes in spite of the fact that a request place Knysna under administration was voted down by the council of provinces in ….

The chairman of the NCOP visited Knysna two weeks ago – and is expected to issue a progress report soon.

Bester said even on Tuesday 2 December Waterfront Drive was flooded with sewerage.

The latest water quality readings also showed the E.coli readings were much the same and were not coming down.

He said the municipality was spending money on crisis management, instead putting the money into construction to fix the crisis. He said the municipality was paying R400 000 a month hiring a "honeysucker" truck.

"Instead paying contractor we can have our own fleet out there within a few months". Bester said he speaks to municipality continuously – raising these questions but "they talk circles around that: they vow to implement fixes that are in pipeline, but nothing gets done".

Badenhorst said the DA cares deeply about people living in places like Knysna, who are left to suffer under failing coalitions.

"50% of Knysna's water is lost to leaks, including water bypassed by prepaid meters due to fraud. "Over R11 million in revenue is lost from broken water meters on bypass because meters and UIUs cannot be replaced, while inadequate systems are in place to monitor and manage these losses, worsening the crisis," said Badenhorst.

He said the NCOP Select Committee's oversight visit confirmed these systemic failures, particularly the severe deterioration in water and sanitation infrastructure and ongoing contamination of the Knysna estuary, "a lifeline for tourism and the local economy".

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