KNYSNA - Knysna is staring down the barrel of empty taps.
With the Akkerkloof Dam down to 15 percent and just ten days of drinking water left, anxiety is rising.
Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell is calling for a provincial disaster to be declared due to the water problems in the province.
"We're heading into a very difficult space. I'm going to go to cabinet next week and ask cabinet ro consider declaring a provincial disaster," Bredell said.
Officials are warning there may be less than two weeks of usable water left.
With water supply at critical levels, authorities say high seasonal demand and panic storing aren't helping.
Knysna mayor Thando Matika said water consumption is very high.
"There seems to be much panic from the residents buying JoJo tanks and filling them up using the same resources that we are having, which is your tap water, which we also caution the residents from doing that," he said.
"But in terms of day zero, we are making all the mitigations. We have prepared so that when we do have day zero, all systems are in place."