Bitou Executive Meeting With Ratepayers Association On Water

Dear Members,

Below is a record of the meeting held on 13 January 2026 between the Plett Ratepayers and Mayor Kamkam, several councillors, and senior administration.  We made several proposals and await their feedback. 

We are providing links to the reports we provided them.  

We will keep you informed of any developments.  

Kind regards,
Tony Blignaut

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PLETTENBERG BAY RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION

RECORD OF A MEETING WITH BITOU EXECUTIVE MAYOR, COUNCILLORS, ACTING MUNICIPAL MANAGER AND SENIOR MEMBERS OF BITOU ADMINISTRATION CONCERNING THE WATER SITUATION IN BITOU

TUESDAY 13 JANUARY 2026 AT 10.00 AM

Attendees

Bitou: Executive Mayor, Acting Municipal Manager, the Speaker Councillors Swart, Kolwapi, Eddie Oosthuizen (Senior Manager Water Services) other Heads of Department and Municipal Officials.

Ratepayers: Peter Pyke, Stuart Comline

BACKGROUND

The meeting was requested by Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers Association in 2025 mainly to address Bitou’s water security and in particular the limitations in bulk water supply in light of the rapid population and urban growth in recent years. However, given the recent drought conditions and the increasing threat to the town’s water security, much of the discussion was directed towards mitigating the current severe water supply situation.

The meeting preceded a separate internal Bitou Municipality Management meeting to discuss immediate measures required to address the current crisis.

RECORDAL

The meeting was opened by the chair, the Acting Municipal Manager, Mr Chris Mapeyi.

Bitou’s Senior Manager, Water Services, Mr Eddie Oosthuizen gave a comprehensive presentation on Bitou’s four water sources:

• Keurbooms river abstraction, normally accounting for some 80% of the towns water supply, but on which abstraction from this source has been suspended as per DWS Reserve requirements, until such time as the water flow increases.

• Roodefontein Dam, currently at 31% full

• The desalination plant, currently operating and producing some 1.6 ML per day

• 4 boreholes, currently producing some 2.4 ML per day

In addition the water supply for Kurland and for Natures Valley were addressed.

For each of the above, requirements to optimise these sources and their related reticulation systems were explained, along with the costs and the time frames in which the optimisation could occur. Immediate relief is not likely, other than minor additional supply from boreholes.

Other important initiatives, including the proposed Wadrift dam and further expansion/refurbishment of boreholes, and maintenance of the desalination plant were also addressed. In the long-term, the development of the Wadrift off-stream dam is the only realistic option to ensure adequate bulk storage for Bitou.

NEAR TERM DROUGHT MITIGATION MEASURES

Bitou acknowledged that the communications with the public to date to reduce water consumption had not had sufficient impact and water consumption was still too high (despite warnings being issued since August 2025)

Current water restrictions allows for 10 kL per household per month and form the basis for the principal mitigation strategy by reducing consumption.

Scenarios were presented as to when the Roodefontein dam supply would be exhausted, which without further rainfall, indications are that it would occur about 14 March. If Bitou reached that point, without further rain, water resources would amount to some 4 ML per day from the desalination plant and boreholes (Current consumption is reported at 14 ML per day).

Some water users were still using excessive amounts of between 70 and 90 kL per month and in an extreme case up to 400 kL per month. Users with excessive consumption would be notified, monitored by MLE and have water restrictors applied to their supply line.

Bitou stated that non-essential water consumers, would have supplies curtailed e.g car washes. Ratepayers recommended that construction on multi-unit building sites, who are large users of water, be suspended until drought conditions and water availability improves.

Bitou committed to increasing the communication with the public, including widespread pamphlet distribution, public banners communicating water levels and through direct mail drops and social media messaging etc.

Bitou is in discussions with all of Province, Department of Water Affairs and Gift of the Givers in an aim to augment water resources in the short term. This most likely would be from boreholes, of which a fifth borehole should be operational shortly, and from other refurbished or new boreholes on the George East fault, close to existing pipelines in the Uplands area.

Ratepayers recommended that Bitou second a dedicated project manager to oversee immediate efforts to increase water supply and reduce water consumption, while the drought lasts.

LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY AND STORAGE ISSUES

Ratepayers urged Bitou to address a number of measures to ensure that bulk water infrastructure and storage be prioritised to meet growing long-term demand, as population and urban growth had far outstripped the towns infrastructure and resource facilities. These include measures such as:

• Accelerating all further investigative and planning work on the proposed large scale Wadrift off-stream dam, the only measure that will make a significant difference to water security in the long term (Further investigations budgeted).

• Repairing the transfer pipeline between the Keurbooms abstraction point and Roodefontein dam to ensure that bulk storage for the town is improved, by pumping water to storage during periods of high Keurbooms river flow (identified as a project).

• Completing the agreement between Bitou and DWS on Roodefontein and making provision for Bitou to use it as a storage facility, with metering and cost implications.

• Completing the EIA and replacing filters on the desalination plant (in progress).

• Reviewing all previous geohydrology reports to identify further borehole sites and the drilling and equipping of further boreholes and, if necessary and practical, installing satellite treatment plants, which Bitou is considering.

• Making water supply and storage the priority in the budget - there is nothing more important.

• Deferring all building approvals on multi-unit housing complexes and reducing approval of new residential building until there is adequate water and sewerage infrastructure in place.

• Filling vacant posts in the engineering department with suitably qualified personnel and ensuring that proposals to SCM relating to water and sewerage infrastructure are processed expeditiously and awarded to competent parties, with proven track records.

• Ratepayers also proposed a model to revise the water tariff structure that would be more equitable and reflect the scarcity of water (which is not the case currently). Bitou agreed that the tariff structure would be reviewed in the current budget period.

Ratepayers offered Bitou assistance through its engineers and other professionals in the community.

Bitou agreed that the meeting had been constructive and would consider the proposals which would be further discussed in follow-up meetings.

The meeting ended at 11:30.

PDF documentMeeting Record From Bitou MeetingDownload

PDF documentMemorandum on Bitou Population GrowthDownload

PDF documentKey Developments in Bitou's PopulationDownload

PDF documentMeasures to ensure Bitou's water securityDownload

PDF documentGanse Vallei Performance ReportDownload