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Right as rain
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South Africa is running out of water. While Day Zero - the day that water supply runs completely dry - in Cape Town was pushed back to 2019, the country desperately needs short-term solutions to water scarcity. SBS Tanks may have just the ticket.
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ater stress is prevalent across SubSaharan Africa, with many countries suffering from inadequate or aging infrastructure and little investment in repair work. The case of South Africa can be particularly frustrating for observers, as the huge potential of its economy is suppressed by frequent droughts and its population’s inability to access reliable water supply. Unfortunately, with infrastructure that loses around 37% of its already-scarce water supply every year, rainfall is no guarantee of improvement
in drought conditions. The situation is causing demand for water storage tanks and other withholding capacities to surge in a bid to save people and industry from having to go without. SBS Tanks is a industry-leading and pioneering provider of water storage solutions to the mining, fire protecting, food and beverage, municipal and water conservation sectors. It has won multiple awards for its efforts in ensuring that South African people and businesses have reliable access to usable water, including Productivity SA’s Most Productive Company in the corporate sector and KZN Exporter of the Year.
“Unfortunately, with infrastructure that loses around 37% of its alreadyscarce water supply every year, rainfall is no guarantee of improvement in drought conditions
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Economic drought
Access to water is a basic human right that many South Africans struggle with due to supply constraints, but it is also an economic advantage that could be transformational for the country. The industries that contribute the most to South Africa’s GDP at the moment are agriculture, mining and manufacturing, all of which require water for some part of their operations.
Empowering rural communities
In a water scarce country like South Africa, rainfall is a precious commodity that rarely gets used to its full potential. For rural communities, this can give them vital independence. The cost of food has been steadily rising year on year in South Africa, increasing by 3.4% this June compared to the same period in 2017, which has led rural populations to rely more heavily on their own agriculture for sustenance. However, in the absence of effective water storage, they’re suffering the hardest from droughts and problems linked to ineffective supply systems. Rainwater storage tanks give rural communities the ability to be self-
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“The tanks provided by SBS store water that is of a much higher quality, limiting exposure to waterbourne illnesses such as cholera or typhoid sufficient and not suffer at the hands of food inflation. In 2016, SBS Tanks donated and installed three 112-kilolitre water storage tanks in the small agricultural towns of Lindley, Mamafubedu, and Trompsburg. These solutions not only allow communities to grow their own food, but they ensure consistent access to a healthy water supply. The tanks provided by SBS store water that is of a much higher quality, limiting exposure to waterbourne illnesses such as cholera or typhoid.
Mining and agriculture also happen to be the two of the top three sectors for water usage, taking up nearly 65% of the total between them. The use of water in these industries is nonnegotiable, and inadequate water supply is limiting their growth, and by extension the growth of South Africa’s economy as a whole. Although water storage tanks can help industrial users get the best out of every drop of rain that falls from the sky, distributing it more effectively across their operations, the intensive and heavy duty nature of the mining sector can make it hard to find appropriate solutions. SBS has made every effort to adapt to this market, enabling the mining sector to contribute its full potential to the South African economy. Every tank in the SBS Standard Tanks range comes with internal lining that minimises the ever-
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Contact Head Office: +27 (0)31 705 7759 / 705 6085 Email: info@capecoaters.co.za Website: www.capecoaters.co.za present risk of corrosion in mining operations. SBS also pioneered the use of modular water storage tanks, allowing them to be quickly relocated as is often needed in the industry.
Not being treated urgently
Water storage tanks also provide a realistic near-term solution to a situation that South Africa’s government and business leaders are failing to treat with enough urgency.
It’s estimated that investment in the country’s water resources and infrastructure would need to reach R1 trillion to make the necessary maintenance, repairs and upgrades possible. Andres Nel, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, recently estimated that for immediate rehabilitation works, R97 billion is still required.
like those provided by SBS offer a fast and effective solution for many of the regions and industries in most desperate need of reliable water supply. Modular storage tanks also have the added bonus of giving users added control over the resources contained within them, so their use can be adapted to individual, community or business needs.
Particularly when used in conjunction with other water saving initiatives, storage tanks
While water scarcity will undoubtedly continue to be a problem for South Africa, with ‘Day Zeros’ looming in the near future for municipalities all over South Africa, the solutions offered by SBS Tanks can provide a welcome alternative that makes use of natural resources to keep economies and communities ticking over while the country waits on more adequate infrastructure.
“It’s estimated that investment in the country’s water resources and infrastructure would need to reach R1 trillion to make the necessary maintenance, repairs and upgrades possible
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DURBAN – HEAD OFFICE Unit 6 Surprise Park 11 Surprise Road, Maxmead, Pinetown, Durban, KZN, 3610 NATIONAL SHARECALL NUMBER: 086 048 2657 Tel: +27(0)31 716 1820 Fax: +27(0)31 716 1821 Email: water@sbstanks.co.za
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