In South Africa, extended droughts are becoming more frequent. Whenever a prolong drought occurs, it triggers water crisis, and in extreme cases dams running so low that the overall water security of an entire city is threatened. Drought in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro is not new. Since 1969, the Metro has experienced at least four instances of severe drought but the 2017 – 2023 drought was the most severe in the history of the Metro. The 2017 – 2023 drought led to the combined water storage levels in reservoirs reaching extreme lows, triggering a city-wide water crisis that lasted for seven years. The municipality responded to the drought by implementing several technical and non-technical measures, but these measures and the way in which they implemented raises several lessons for water services management and policy. This paper draws on value interaction framework to analyse the implications of the municipal water crisis response by shedding light on the interactions between the value efficiency, equity, and sustainability implications. It distilled 16 lessons to strengthen resilience of water services delivery in times of crisis, and policy directions for ensuring that efficiency, equity, and sustainability mutually re-enforces one another, particularly in the long-term. The lessons also advocate for practicing anticipatory governance, setting aside financial resources to support the most vulnerable while implementing systems for efficient collection of water services tariffs and cost recoveries. A critical policy and implementation matter relate to strategic autonomy for water service delivery division or units within local government. Such strategic autonomy would involve strategic delegation of power to the appropriate level for effective and efficient management of water services and related infrastructure, including securing financial and human resources necessary for the water sector. The analysis also suggests that a social-ecological-technical systems approach to planning is needed in both policy and implementation. This would consider the imperative for building public trust, investing in strategic relationships, securing critical water assets (built and ecological), and strengthening vertical and horizontal coordination and cooperation, whilst ensuring political stability.