33 / 72
33
Grahamstown East, and 53 standpipes brought water closer to
people’s homes.
The first water treatment plant for Grahamstown was installed
in 1914. The water came in from Jameson and Milner dams.
In 1936 the first water borne Sewage Treatment works was
opened. Neglect of the sewage system caused by lack of an
engineer’s assistant to oversee the treatment plant, eventually
resulted in a total blockage in 1943.
PRESENT WATER SUPPLY AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
There are currently twowater treatment works inGrahamstown:
at Glen Melville and at Waainek. Treated water from the Glen
Melville works, with a capacity to produce 10 megalitres per
day, is fed to the Botha’s Hill, Mayfield and Tantyi reservoirs.
Treated water from the Waainek works with a capacity to
produce 9 megalitres per day is fed into the Waainek reservoir
and the remaining three reservoirs situated in the vicinity of
the town’s filters (Makana 2008).
Due to the local topography, Grahamstown is divided into
a northern drainage area and a southern drainage area
served by the Mayfield wastewater treatment works and the
Belmont Valley wastewater treatment works, respectively. The
Municipality upgraded the Mayfield wastewater treatment
works from an aerated lagoon and oxidation pond system to
an activated sludge system. The Belmont Valley wastewater
treatment works uses biological filtration to purify wastewater.
According to Makana Municipality (2004), 96 per cent of
the households in Grahamstown has access to water from an
improved source, and about 36 per cent of the households has
access to adequate sanitation.
Makana Municipality has developed a water master plan
to be put in place at a cost of USD 22 million. The plan
outlines proposed water and wastewater projects such as the
construction of a 4-megalitre reservoir at Botha’s Hill; the
upgrade of the Alicedale Water Treatment Plant; conversion
from ventilation improved pit toilets to waterborne sanitation
at Extension 6 and lower Makana; upgrade of the Belmont
Valley wastewater works; and, the construction of bulk water
supply at James Kleynhans water treatment works.
Not all parts of Grahamstown had equal supply of water.
The eastern part of the city, a settlement mainly for the black
population, had inadequate water supplies and sanitation
services. In 1938 a new water supply line was laid for