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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