GEORGE NEWS - With El Niño expected to intensify from October, George residents are being warned to prepare for two increasingly pressing risks: water scarcity and a prolonged fire season.
This warning comes as the Western Cape prepares for what has been described as an unprecedented fire window, while local climate experts have already cautioned that below-normal rainfall could put pressure on water resources.
At the Garden Route Environmental Forum's (Gref) Extreme Weather Reflection Summit in July, climate expert Peter du Toit warned residents to "brace for impact", saying another El Niño had developed and could disrupt rainfall patterns from October. He urged George Municipality to maintain water restrictions and warned that water scarcity remained a concern, despite the recent rainfall.
Water shortage
A local tour guide, the founder of the Garden Route Dam Action Group (Gardag), Ken Gie, has also urged residents to use water sparingly, pointing to George's growing population and increasing development.
Gie noted that George's Garden Route Dam has a capacity of 12.5 billion litres of raw water, while the municipality's upgraded water purification works, commissioned in May 2025 following a R1.15b grant and R300m in municipal funding, can process up to 60 million litres a day.
The Garden Route Dam in October 2009.
He warned, however, that another drought like 2009's, when only about two months of water remained in the dam, could place the city under serious pressure.
Residents can help reduce consumption by taking shorter showers, fixing leaking taps and toilets, only running full washing machine and dishwasher loads, and collecting shower water for flushing toilets or watering gardens.
Fire risk
Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell confirmed this week that the province's traditional four-month summer fire season has effectively expanded into an eight-month high-risk period, from October to May.
According to the DA Western Cape, firefighter training has been brought forward to September, while CapeNature and the Provincial Disaster Management Centre are preparing for rapid response. CapeNature's rapid-attack approach reportedly extinguishes 90% of ignitions within the first hour.
Invasive alien vegetation remains a major concern. At the Gref Summit, invasive species expert Dr Arne Witt warned that alien vegetation increases wildfire risk and contributes to erosion and flooding.
Fires in the George area in 2016.
Residents can reduce fire risk by clearing dry vegetation and other combustible material around properties, keeping gutters and roofs free of leaves, maintaining defensible space around buildings, and ensuring firebreaks are maintained where required. Landowners should also report fires immediately and avoid burning during dangerous weather conditions.
The coming months will require that residents, landowners and authorities to prepare for the combined effects of heat, fire and possible water shortages.
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