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Grahamstown's Water Supply - A Brief History 1812-2008
A KCC committee member, Mr Lorraine Mullins, undertook the daunting task of pulling together all the known history of Grahamstown's water supply, the problems and the successes over the years. It has been published in the Annals of the Albany Museum. This resource will be a wealth of information for learners doing school projects.
Lorraine searched through old records in the Albany History Museum , the Cory library and even went chasing after information from an engineering firm in Port Elizabeth. He notes that this started as what he thought would be a short task and eventually took him many months to compile. This is mainly due to his thoroughness in undertaking the research. The KCC and the citizens of Grahamstown thank Lorraine for his hard work and his tenacity to see this project through to completion.
Summary Table of GHT Water Supply
Undated photograph taken by the old firm of Hepburn & Jeans (circa 1897) showing
progress in the construction of either Milner, or Jameson, Dam. There are at least 120 workers
at rest on the bank. Note the ox- or mule- drawn scotch-carts, which could be tipped to release
their payloads. In the foreground stands an imposing figure, perhaps the engineer (Albany Museum
Archives: SM Pic. 5801)
Water is life presentation
Nikki Kohly, incoming chairperson of the KCC, has put together this presentation
that gives an excellent summary of issues affecting the Kowie River Catchment.
The slides can be viewed in the slide show below.
Help Save Water!
We have had good rains, but we live in a chronically
water-stressed area with erratic rainfall and frequent droughts. It is good practice to use water sparingly.
- Harvest rainwater: Install a rainwater tank or two beside your house and collect free rainwater off the roof. You can use it for watering plants and cooking.
- Re-use grey water: Attach a wide black plastic pipe to outlets from showers/baths and wash basins so grey water can flow into the garden. You can plant a small wetland around its outlet, or let it filter through sand first.
- Install waterless sanitation: Flush toilets are a luxury that can't last forever. Think about waterless sanitation. It's the technology of the future, it's sustainable, and it's already in common use in SA, Australia, Dubai, the USA, etc. More info: http://www.enviro-loo.com
- Plant water-wise: Many beautiful indigenous Eastern Cape plants use less water. In the veggie garden, use a thick mulch - which helps keep the soil moist.
- Become water neutral: The WWF 'Water Neutral' scheme calls us to review our water use, reduce the amount we use, and replenish freshwater ecosystems. See: http://www.waterneutral.co.za
- Fix leaks: A dripping tap or leaking toilet can waste more than 1000 litres per month. Fix it.
- Flush toilet less: Flush only when you need to. Put a full plastic bottle in the cistern to reduce the amount of water flushed.
- Low-flow shower: You can still enjoy your shower while using less water.
- Don't bath: Showers are more hygienic and, if not longer than 7 minutes, use less water.
- Don't wash cars: Washing non-essential things like cars, pathways, etc, is a waste of precious water.
- Don't leave taps running: Switch off the tap while you clean your teeth, rinse veggies, wash dishes, etc.
- Wash full loads only: If you must use a washing machine, buy one that uses less water, make sure it is full before use, and keep the water for flushing.
- Report municipal leaks: Breakages and leaks anywhere in town have an impact on all of us. Report these immediately to our Municipality: 046-603.6136 / 6063
Improvement in Grahamstown's tap water quality
Catherine Luyt, a doctoral student supervised by Dr Roman Tandlich, has been evaluating two low-cost microbial monitoring tests as part of her PhD research. Dr Tandlich and Catherine are based at the Environmental Health and Biotechnology Research Group within the Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University. Within her research, tap water samples were taken from within various municipal areas including from within the region falling under the Makana Municipality for microbial water quality testing. While there were microbial water quality problems associated with Grahamstown's tap water between 2008 and 2010, tap water samples taken from within the Makana Municipality region in June and July of 2011 have shown a marked improvement, with microbial water quality mostly being within the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) guidelines. For more information, visit the KCC water quality page.
Amatola Water to provide Grahamstown's water?
It has been reported in the Grocotts that Amatola Water may be appointed by
Makana Municipality to provide bulk water services to Grahamstown. According
to the Grocotts, the arrangement involves Amatola Water being responsible for
water treatment and bulk water supply, while the municipality will still be
in charge of maintaining the reticulation infrastructure.
Makana Municipality Blue Drop score improves
The Blue Drop 2011 report has given Makana Municipality a score of 56% for Grahamstown,
a 20% improvement since last year. Click on the image below to view the report. Makana Municipality
is mentioned from page 31.
