In an urgent response to a severe and escalating water crisis, municipal and provincial disaster management authorities have formally requested the intervention of humanitarian organization Gift of the Givers. The heads of both the Garden Route Municipality Disaster Management and the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management reached out for support as multiple towns face acute water shortages.
Mario Ferreira, a project manager for Gift of the Givers, who has been on the ground since last Thursday, provided a stark assessment of the situation. He reported that the aid group is currently focused on the suburb of Brenton-on-Sea in Knysna, where reservoirs have run dry and taps have ceased to flow.
“Our tankers are filling reservoirs and roaming the streets,” Ferreira stated. “We are filling tanks so people can have access to water at all hours. Restaurants and businesses are suffering seriously.”
Ferreira drew a parallel to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the organization is mobilizing in a similar disaster-response fashion. He revealed that the situation is so critical that Gift of the Givers founder, Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, and the group’s chief hydrologist, Martine Laas, are scheduled to visit the area imminently. Laas will conduct investigations into the local water infrastructure, which Ferreira described as a recurring problem.
According to information received by the aid team, the Knysna area has approximately 29 days of stored water remaining. Ferreira confirmed that demand is currently exceeding production, forcing a reliance on backup reservoir storage.
“We are in a drought,” Ferreira said, though he noted annual rainfall is on par with previous years. “It’s just at this time of the year we have less runoff.”
The crisis threatens the economic heart of the region, which depends heavily on the upcoming festive tourism season. Ferreira acknowledged the severe impact on job security if the “Day Zero” scenario materializes, comparing it to the pandemic-era job losses when Gift of the Givers supplied food parcels to unemployed hotel staff.
In response, the organization is implementing several proactive measures. These include deploying water tankers, distributing bottled water—with a shipment organized in partnership with Old Mutual—and preparing additional stored supplies. A key medium-term solution being explored is the repair and drilling of boreholes, though Ferreira said turnaround times depend on location and depth, a matter for their hydrologist to determine.
Ferreira also reported growing frustration within the community, stating that residents and business owners feel a lack of transparency from local authorities about the true severity of the crisis.
“They feel there’s a wool being pulled over their eyes,” he said. “They don’t want to disclose the severity of the situation as it really is on the ground.”
With the holiday season fast approaching, efforts are now intensely focused on ensuring water availability to sustain both residents and the vital tourism economy, while long-term infrastructural solutions are sought.