A Free State municipality has blamed the contamination of its drinking water on "people throwing building rubble and bicycles" into the water-purification system.

The Moqhaka local municipality, which is responsible for Kroonstad, Steynsrus and Viljoenskroon, in the north-eastern Free State, has been dealing with water shortages and contamination for the past two weeks.

More than 1000 cases of diarrhoea were reported and 350 people were treated at hospitals and clinics.

But provincial health spokesman Jabu Mbalula said the situation had been resolved and people were now receiving clean water.

"After people were complaining of diarrhoea we had tests done on the water, and it showed the water was not being purified. The problem was that the water needed chlorine," he said.

But the municipality's technical manager for water supplies, Mike Lelaka, denied on Friday that the contamination of the tap water was due to there being no chemicals, saying: "This can't be so."

He said old infrastructure and "continual pipe breakages, as well as people throwing building rubble and bicycles" into the water source was contaminating the water.

"I cannot confirm if the water was making people sick but we are doing everything we can."

Debbie Shahim, a Moqhaka ward councillor for the DA, said the municipality "knowingly pumped water through the system without chemicals".

"The situation is because the municipality is in economic distress. There is never money to fix the water problems," she said.

Shahim said the municipality poured 6t of chlorine into the water to solve the problem.

However, she said, this was only a short-term solution.

Lelaka said the water crisis was "one of those things" and the municipality has "tried to keep the water clean".

Mbalula said a provincial team has been assigned to the problem "to see what can be done".

The DA ward councillor for Steynsrus, Albie Viljoen, said a school was forced to send more than 500 children home after 100 pupils were made ill, allegedly by drinking water, last week.

The town is now relying on local farmers and Kroonstad for its water supply.

The water problem comes as Moqhaka is in danger of having its electricity cut.

It is one of five municipalities in the Free State that owes Eskom millions of rands.

This month, Eskom published an advertisement in which it said it would cut Moqhaka's power on November 8 because of the non-payment of about R45-million.

A spokesman for Premier Ace Magashule said each municipality "must make their own arrangements with Eskom" to pay the arrears.