WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION IN GRAHAMSTOWN: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Jay O’Keeffe7

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 Mafikeng Johannesburg NAMIBIA Upington Kimberley Port Nolloth Calvinia Vanrhynsdorp

Cape Town Saldanha

Beaufort West Worcester Mossel Bay Bloemfontein LESOTHO De Aar

Queenstown Middelburg

Grahamstown East London Port Elizabeth Kokstad Umtata Vryburg

Polokwane Nelspruit

Veereniging Pretoria

Kroonstad Ladysmith Germiston SWAZILAND Ulundi Richards Bay

Port Shepstone Durban

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

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.

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).

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