Buffalo City Metro and the Makana municipality have been flagged for poor performance, weak compliance and inadequate reporting in the management of their wastewater treatment works, according to the department of water and sanitation.
The findings were presented at the Water Research Commission (WRC) Eastern Cape Provincial Partnership Roadshow, held at Rhodes University in Makhanda last week.
Presenting the State of Water Research Report, water and sanitation department official Andrew Lucas said both municipalities ranked among the province’s worst performers as of August 2025.
Makana ranked second on the Water Service Authority failure chart, with three water treatment works — none fully functional, two partially functional and one non-functional.
Buffalo City ranked third, with 15 water treatment works, of which only three were fully functional.
Lucas said municipalities had repeatedly failed to implement corrective action plans submitted to the department.
“Though they submit well-constructed plans, implementation is delayed or never happens,” he said.
“When municipalities experience vandalism or underperformance, they are expected to rectify issues, but that rarely occurs.”
He said poor budgeting compounded the problem.
“Funding is spread over several years and often misused. Instead of allocating enough money to fix a problem within one year, they release small amounts over time — and by the time they continue, earlier work has already failed,” he said.
Water Research Commission chief executive Dr Jennifer Molwantwa warned that the province’s water security was under threat due to ageing, poorly maintained and frequently vandalised infrastructure, resulting in major water losses and sewer spillages.
She said operational failures — including a lack of skilled personnel, poor revenue collection and noncompliance with national standards — worsened the crisis.
The department of water and sanitation Blue, Green and No Drop reports revealed that while Buffalo City achieved a “positive green drop” rating, it still failed to meet wastewater treatment requirements and had deteriorating river health.
Across the Eastern Cape, the Blue Drop report recorded a 45% compliance rate for drinking water systems, with several areas falling short of national standards.
The Green Drop report showed sanitation services were 54% functional, but still at “serious” risk levels.
The Drinking Water Quality analysis placed BCM’s water quality at 96.1%, below the 99% threshold for zero E.coli contamination.
Makana performed slightly better, at 99.9% compliance.
Stakeholders at the roadshow urged urgent implementation of existing plans.
Puseletso Kolanchu, of the Eastern Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre, said Makana had repeatedly received funding that failed to produce lasting results.
“They apply for funds to build or repair infrastructure, but rely on the same flawed strategies that cause damage again.
“Projects address short-term needs, not sustainability,” she said.
South African Local Government Association (Salga) representative Zona Cokie said the focus should shift from blame to building capacity.
“To maintain proper data management and infrastructure planning, municipalities must adopt infrastructure asset management systems,” she said.
“We also need a tool to measure whether support to municipalities is effective — many claim to assist, but we must be able to show evidence of impact.”
Rand Water specialist Nakampe Modike called for the use of drones instead of over-reliance on private security guards to protect water infrastructure.
“Municipalities spend millions on physical security contracts, often without arming guards.
“Drones would be more effective for surveillance and maintenance,” he said.
Water Institute of Southern Africa operations manager Melissa Cousins said skills training was key to turning around performance.
“We need to train technical managers, plant workers and councillors together so they understand each other’s roles,” she said.
“There’s a huge gap between governance and operations — decisions are made by leaders who lack technical knowledge.
“Training will help them make informed choices about water management.”
Daily Dispatch
