diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index 97228a5e..c05b6f73 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ package main
 import (
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"flag"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 
 	// Import all Kubernetes client auth plugins (e.g. Azure, GCP, OIDC, etc.)
 	// to ensure that exec-entrypoint and run can make use of them.
@@ -29,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 	utilruntime "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/runtime"
 	clientgoscheme "k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/scheme"
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/cache"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/healthz"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log/zap"
 	metricsserver "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/metrics/server"
@@ -94,7 +97,12 @@ func main() {
 		TLSOpts: tlsOpts,
 	})
 
-	mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(ctrl.GetConfigOrDie(), ctrl.Options{
+	watchNamespace, err := getWatchNamespace()
+	if err != nil {
+		setupLog.Error(err, "manager requires namespace to be registered for caching resources")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	options := ctrl.Options{
 		Scheme: scheme,
 		Metrics: metricsserver.Options{
 			BindAddress:   metricsAddr,
@@ -116,7 +124,17 @@ func main() {
 		// if you are doing or is intended to do any operation such as perform cleanups
 		// after the manager stops then its usage might be unsafe.
 		// LeaderElectionReleaseOnCancel: true,
-	})
+		Cache: cache.Options{
+			DefaultNamespaces: map[string]cache.Config{watchNamespace: {}},
+		},
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(watchNamespace, ",") {
+		setupLog.Info("manager set up with multiple namespaces", "namespaces", watchNamespace)
+		options.Namespace = ""
+		options.NewCache = cache.MultiNamespacedCacheBuilder(strings.Split(watchNamespace, ","))
+	}
+
+	mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(ctrl.GetConfigOrDie(), options)
 	if err != nil {
 		setupLog.Error(err, "unable to start manager")
 		os.Exit(1)
@@ -160,3 +178,14 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
+
+// getWatchNamespace returns the Namespace the operator should be watching for changes
+func getWatchNamespace() (string, error) {
+	var watchNamespaceEnvVar = "WATCH_NAMESPACE"
+
+	ns := os.Getenv(watchNamespaceEnvVar)
+	if ns == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s must be set", watchNamespaceEnvVar)
+	}
+	return ns, nil
+}
diff --git a/config/manager/manager.yaml b/config/manager/manager.yaml
index 82ef1957..764d99fa 100644
--- a/config/manager/manager.yaml
+++ b/config/manager/manager.yaml
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ spec:
           valueFrom:
             fieldRef:
               fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+        - name: WATCH_NAMESPACE
+          valueFrom:
+            fieldRef:
+              fieldPath: metadata.namespace
         resources:
           limits:
             cpu: 500m
diff --git a/deploy/all-in-one/install.yaml b/deploy/all-in-one/install.yaml
index 07e8a387..f8019f0b 100644
--- a/deploy/all-in-one/install.yaml
+++ b/deploy/all-in-one/install.yaml
@@ -15494,6 +15494,10 @@ spec:
           valueFrom:
             fieldRef:
               fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+        - name: WATCH_NAMESPACE
+          valueFrom:
+            fieldRef:
+              fieldPath: metadata.namespace
         - name: CSI_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_PREFIX
           value: ceph-csi-operator-
         image: quay.io/cephcsi/ceph-csi-operator:latest
diff --git a/deploy/multifile/operator.yaml b/deploy/multifile/operator.yaml
index d9da73c0..916837de 100644
--- a/deploy/multifile/operator.yaml
+++ b/deploy/multifile/operator.yaml
@@ -626,6 +626,10 @@ spec:
           valueFrom:
             fieldRef:
               fieldPath: metadata.namespace
+        - name: WATCH_NAMESPACE
+          valueFrom:
+            fieldRef:
+              fieldPath: metadata.namespace
         - name: CSI_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_PREFIX
           value: ceph-csi-operator-
         image: quay.io/cephcsi/ceph-csi-operator:latest