Taps in parts of Knysna run brown or dry

Residents in the suburb of Hornlee in Knysna woke up to muddy brown water coming out of their taps on Friday morning.

Residents in the area have battled with intermittent water disruptions for several weeks, while in some parts of ward 6 there has been no water for weeks.

According to the municipality’s communications department, the cause of the discolouration is due to the reservoirs’ storage levels being low.

“We appeal to residents who have access to water to use it sparingly so that storage levels can return to normal.

“The discolouration is expected to dissipate over time,” the municipality said in a statement.

Community activist Lynn Kayster said residents in the upper side of Hornlee had been without water for the past three days.

She said they only had water for five days after not having had any water for two weeks.

Three days ago, their taps ran dry again.

“Now almost the whole community is affected because when ward 11 had water, at least we had people who could assist us and we didn’t depend on just the water trucks,” Kayster said.

Ward 11 councillor Rassel Arends said the Notzie reservoir was running low.

Arends said water tanks had been installed for public use.

Greater Knysna community member Sharon Dreyer and some locals had been collecting water donations and dropping them off to communities in need.

There are drop-off points at Snags Construction and The German Shop.

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