Knysna, one of South Africa’s prominent semigration hotspots, is facing a water crisis that is threatening the long-term sustainability of the coastal town.
Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell warned that the situation is serious and deteriorating, with Knysna’s main water source at critically low levels.
Located along the Garden Route between George and Plettenberg Bay, Knysna has long attracted affluent South Africans and foreign buyers seeking coastal living with natural beauty and a perceived escape from the pressures of major cities.
That appeal has translated into booming property prices. Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty reported that the town’s median house price surged by 47.6% to R3.1 million last year and rose a further 12.9% to R3.5 million the following year.
According to Henley & Partners’ African Wealth Report, the broader Garden Route region is home to around 3,200 high-net-worth individuals, primarily concentrated in towns such as Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and Wilderness.
Seeff Knysna licensee Gail Rimbault said transactions for the 12 months to the end of November 2025 reached R2.2 billion, with an average transaction price of R3.7 million.
However, Bredell said Knysna has now been flagged as one of the Western Cape’s key areas of concern, particularly after the busy December holiday period.
He explained that the immediate priority is to ensure the town does not run out of water, and that the province deployed engineers and hydrologists to assist with emergency planning and operational support.
Despite these interventions, the outlook remains precarious. Bredell said Knysna’s primary water source, the Kloof Dam, is currently at 15% capacity.
This has forced authorities to focus on urgent short-term measures to prevent a complete supply failure.
“The immediate short-term solutions will be to add water to the dam through boreholes, through a spring that we will tap into, etc,” he said.
Provincial disaster on the cards
At the same time, residents and businesses have been urged to drastically cut consumption. “The target is 50 litres per person per day,” Bredell said, stressing that public cooperation is essential.
“If everybody works together, I’m certain that we will pull through.” While contingency plans are in place should Knysna reach a Day Zero scenario, he said every effort is being made to avoid that outcome.
He added that national, provincial, and local authorities are working together to manage the crisis.
Weather conditions are also adding to the pressure. Bredell warned that forecasts point to much less rain than normal over the next three to four months.
“This means we are in trouble waterwise,” he said, adding that prolonged dry conditions are also intensifying the province’s fire season.
He plans to approach Cabinet to declare both the fire risk and water shortages a provincial disaster.
He explained that a disaster declaration would allow resources to remain deployed for longer and enable additional support.
Beyond the immediate crisis, Bredell acknowledged that Knysna’s water challenges are rooted in long-standing management failures.
The town uses about 12 megalitres of water a day, while new boreholes could eventually add around 4.7 megalitres once infrastructure is fully operational.
Additional supply may come from a spring and a private landowner with boreholes, with contracts currently being finalised.
Desalination remains a potential option, but Bredell cautioned that it is neither quick nor cheap. Knysna has a desalination plant that “is not in operation currently” and has been idle for about a decade.
Compounding the crisis are severe water losses within the municipal system. “We also sit with a municipality where 50% of the water is unaccounted for,” Bredell said.
He noted that widespread meter bypassing and leaks are a big problem in the town. Repair teams have already addressed major losses, including cases where a million litres of water a day was being wasted.
Without urgent action and sustained cooperation, Bredell warned that the consequences could be severe.
“We need to fix this. Otherwise, Knysna will run out of water, and the infrastructure will collapse.”
