Green Hills, Blue Cities

WATERSUPPLYANDSANITATIONIN GRAHAMSTOWN: AHISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Jay O’Keeffe 7

Grahamstown was established in 1812 as a military outpost. In the 1820s, large numbers of farming settlers migrated into the area, and within 40 years Grahamstown had grown to be what was then the second largest city in South Africa, after Cape Town.

ZIMBABWE

Thohoyandou

BOTSWANA

Polokwane

Nelspruit

Mafikeng

Pretoria

Germiston

Johannesburg

SWAZILAND

NAMIBIA

Vryburg

Veereniging

Kroonstad

Ulundi

Upington

Ladysmith

Kimberley

Durban Richards Bay

Port Nolloth

Bloemfontein

LESOTHO

De Aar

Kokstad

Port Shepstone

Middelburg

Calvinia

Umtata

Queenstown

Vanrhynsdorp

Beaufort West

Grahamstown

Saldanha

East London

Worcester

Port Elizabeth

Mossel Bay

Cape Town

The city gradually became a centre of learning and education with the establishment of both private and public schools and later the Rhodes University was founded.

Grahamstown and some surrounding smaller urban areas are served by Makana Municipality, which is responsible, among other things, for the provision of water and sanitation services in the area.

POPULATION GROWTH

The 2001 national census estimated Grahamstown’s population at about 76 000 (Makana 2004), while the municipality reported a higher figure of more than 132 000 (Makana 2007).

7. This article is based on documents, advice, suggestions and help from the following, to whom I am deeply grateful: Lorraine Mullins, Helen Barber, Nikki Kohly, Nelson Mabece, Michael Whisson, and Roger Rosewell.

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