The problem was first raised publicly by the social development, infrastructure development and technical services portfolio committees who‚ on May 16 and 17, highlighted that high levels of E.coli — a bacterium indicating contamination by faeces or sewage‚ which can cause a number of illnesses — was found in the water supply.
This raised questions over Makana’s management of water-supply infrastructure and sanitation.
Only after these concerns were raised during the committees’ meeting did officials explain that they had not been testing the water‚ and did not have the necessary chemicals to treat the water because of financial constraints.
They assured the public that the chemicals were on the way.
In 2015‚ Makana municipality hired Amatola Water‚ a company which specialises in providing sanitation and water supply services to municipalities‚ to manage Makana’s unreliable water supply.
According to the Grahamstown Residents Association (GRA) and officials‚ this left Makana without the skills or resources needed for water management operations.
"At Waainek they ran out of chlorine‚ but now [that the public has been informed]‚ the Department of Water and Sanitation has gotten involved to get it working properly‚" Bull said.
Months later‚ after independent tests were done in Grahamstown and the issues were raised at the portfolio committees’ meeting‚ the municipality was forced to address the issue of contamination.
It is an issue of municipalities who only think they are accountable to their political parties‚ when you need to be accountable to your residents‚" Kota said.
Infrastructure upgrades were under way at both James Kleynhans and Waainek water treatment plants.