KNYSNA NEWS - The community in Hornlee has faced persistent water supply issues over the past two months due to recurring pipe bursts and low reservoir levels.
The latest incident occurred over the weekend, leaving residents without water once again. Municipal officials were seen attending to repairs on Sunday 26 October, but water supply was not restored. Instead, water tankers were deployed to provide relief.
A municipal notice on 27 October confirmed bursts in Rykmanshoogte and Fraaisig (Hornlee), as well as Bond Street, Hill Street, and Westhill Drive (Upper Town), with an additional outage in Rexford.
A follow-up notice on 28 October reported a low Noetzie Reservoir, stating: "During the outage, water could unfortunately not be pumped to supply the system. A water tanker team has been dispatched and will be roaming the area to assist residents."
Sedgefield marks ninth day without drinking water
Meanwhile, Sedgefield residents have entered their ninth day without drinkable water after elevated conductivity and saline levels were detected.
Although water is still running, the municipality has advised against consuming it. Water tankers continue to serve affected neighbourhoods.
Businesses say operations have been severely disrupted. "We can’t keep working like this," said a shop owner. "It’s been over a week, and there’s still no timeline for resolution."
Public frustration and governance concerns
On social media, a Knysna resident’s question about water outages in central town sparked wider criticism of the municipality and the National Council of Provinces’ decision to place Knysna under administration.
Commenters accused the municipality of failing to follow through on its promises to repair collapsing infrastructure and restore accountability.
Municipality silent on queries
Knysna-Plett Herald sent an official query to Knysna Municipality seeking comment on both the Hornlee and Sedgefield situations, but has received no response at the time of publication.
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A pipe burst in Hornlee on Sunday 26 October. Photo: Rozano Alie
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