Knysna's three-week-long water crisis has finally come to an end, with the municipality confirming on Thursday, 23 May, that the water supply has been restored across the Greater Knysna area.
In its final update, issued by the Joint Operations Centre JOC at 10am, the municipality said that reservoir levels continue to build steadily, and while some areas may still experience low pressure, this is expected to improve as the system stabilises and returns to normal operating levels.
Residents still experiencing outages were advised to report the matter to the Water Helpdesk, as it may be related to localised pipe breaks, airlocks, or infrastructure-specific issues.
The full restoration follows weeks of supply failures in Knysna and surrounding areas, including Rheenendal, after a cascade of infrastructure issues left taps dry and reservoirs unable to meet demand.
While the municipality repeatedly cited possible causes such as pipe breaks, airlocks, and localised infrastructure problems, earlier updates from the JOC made mention of larger systemic challenges - including reservoir shortages and failing pumps - as key drivers of the crisis.