A lack of funds and responsibility at the Department of Public Works (DPW) resulted in large amounts of effluent entering the Queens River, impacting on farmers in the vicinity of Alma smallholdings.
The sewage disposal plant at the Prison farm has been semi-operational since September 13 when Els Enslin building contractors responsible for the maintenance of the plant, was asked to vacate the premises because the maintenance contract had expired.
During a visit to the plant, raw sewage was visible in one of the stabilisation ponds with a five-centimetre-thick algal growth on the inside walls of some of the ponds. 
The upgrading and maintenance of the sewage plant was part of the R25 million Barberton Prison Remainder Contract.
According to Gys Macdonald, co-owner of Els Enslin, the multi-million-rand contract also included the construction of various storage dams, repair of fences and the upgrade of plumbing and other civil projects at the farm.
The initial budget for the project was R21million but due to additional work required, the amount escalated to R25 million.
Although the one-year contract expired on August 18, 2005, Els Enslin contractors continued maintaining the plant until Johan van Zyl, consulting engineer responsible for the project, asked it to vacate on September 13. There was no remaining funds for maintenance.
Van Zyl appointed one technician at the plant which was normally operated by a workforce of eight. Due to the lack of manpower algae has accumulated on the inside walls and raw sewage was visible in the ponds, creating a potential time bomb in the spreading of harmful bacteria in the Queens River.
Van Zyl said the department of Water and Forestry (Dwaf) granted permission to discharge inferior quality water, as the plant was only semi-operational. He said the wastewater is thoroughly chlorinated before being discharged into the nearby river and contain no harmful bacteria. “The quality of water discharged has improved significantly in recent years,” he said.
On September 16, three days after the contractors were asked to vacate, representatives of Dwaf took samples for analysis to the CSIR-accredited laboratory. 
From the available results only ammonia from the final effluent discharged from the sewerage works, did not comply with the general standard, due to anaerobic conditions, hence high ammonia nutrients indicating potential for algal growth.
In a statement from the department, the results indicated that it was not raw sewerage, that was discharged.
Lucky Mochalibane, national chief director communication at DPW said that the schedule for implementing a new maintenance contract was affected by prolonged negotiations between his department and correctional services and also the availability of funds. 
He said an emergency intervention contract would run for the next three years, which would commence before the end of the year.