Sewage spills have become a part of daily life in Knysna. This has been an ongoing problem for years, and of course the current water crisis is exacerbating the problem.

Scenes such as this, with sewage flowing out of manholes in many streets across Knysna are almost a daily occurrence.

This situation was picked up in a insert that was aired on Carte Blanche back in February of 2024

The problem has not gone away.

Every month the Municipality publishes an independent water quality analysis of the estuary and the culverts leading into the estuary.

Here is the January 8, 2026 update:

As you can see every monitored culvert leading into the estuary has unacceptably high E.coli levels. The contamination is widespread and has been consistent across all reports for months.

Many residents are at their wits end with spills and the accompanying smell. Yesterday a resident asked this in a local group :

Really would like to know, in order to better understand, why does sewage spill onto Hedge St, Waterfront Dr etc repeatedly happen even after being sorted out on many occasions? (grateful for that) Is there an underlying fault with sewage infrastructure that isn't being fixed permanently? I know nothing about sewers. Would like to know in order to have realistic expectations about 'fixes' and what to expect.

What’s actually causing the repeated spills

The repeated sewage spills strongly point to underlying, systemic failures in the sewer network, not just isolated incidents. The fixes thus far have mostly been temporary resets, not permanent fixes.

Here are the causes of the spills:

• Pump stations losing prime
  In several areas (including Waterfront Drive / Hedge Street), sewage relies on pump stations to move uphill. When these pumps lose prime often due to air entering the system, fluctuating flows, or mechanical wear sewage backs up and overflows. Resetting the pump restores flow temporarily, but if the underlying cause isn’t fixed, the failure repeats within hours or days.
  
  
• Aging, overstressed infrastructure
  Much of Knysna’s sewer system is old and operating beyond its original design life. Pipes, pumps, and valves are more prone to failure, especially under stress (heat, low flows, power interruptions, high demand etc.)
  
  
• Low water flows make sewer problems worse
  During water shortages, as is currently underway, reduced household water use means less flushing of sewer lines. That allows solids to settle, increasing blockages and making pump failures more likely. Ironically, water crises often amplify sewage problems.
  
  
• Infiltration, blockages, and partial collapses
  Cracked pipes allow sand, roots, or stormwater to enter the sewer system. These don’t always cause total failure instead they create chronic, recurring problems that surface as “fixed” spills that keep coming back.
  
  
• Maintenance is reactive, not preventative
  What’s mostly happening is: overflow > emergency response > pump reset > overflow stops. But what is not happening is : pipe replacement, pump refurbishment or redesign of the problem sections.

What this means for expectations

The people living here should expect repeated spills in known problem areas until major work is done. A spill being “sorted out” today does not mean the problem is solved. Permanent resolution would require targeted pump station refurbishment or replacement, rehabilitation or relining of affected sewer mains and preventative maintenance informed by constant monitoring and not just emergency resets after overflows occur.

These fixes will take months, not hours or days and require funding, skills, uninterrupted access to the problem areas and most importantly political will, which has clearly been absent for a prolonged period, given how long these failures have been documented..

Why this should concern you

With persistently high E. coli readings and the ongoing freshwater stress, these sewer failures pose a real public health risk if not addressed structurally.

The risk of the following health impacts are elevated:

• acute gastroenteritis
• diarrhoeal disease in children and the elderly
• skin, eye, and ear infections
• secondary infections in immunocompromised people

While this is not clinical evidence, anecdotal evidence is there that this is already impacting people in the town. For example see these recent comments in a local Facebook group:

Until such time as this problem is resolved, if you live in the town or are planning to visit, it is imperative that you make strict hygiene and avoidance of contact with water along streets a priority!

As a practical precaution, it's strongly recommend to leave shoes you have worn outdoors outside and drive with your car windows closed when driving through water in the streets. It’s inconvenient, but genuinely worth the effort!

Only time will tell if this long-standing systemic problem is tackled head on and resolved.