Water conservation company Waterbank Africa hopes to engage government on the possibility of pursuing a high-volume roll-out of its patented pressurised water tank – the WaterBank – to help ease the burden of water loss.

WaterBank Africa executive chairperson Geoff Brown tells Engineering News that, owing to the acute water crisis in South Africa, the company believes that it has an opportunity and responsibility to approach government to help with the roll-out of the tanks as a significant resource for water conservation, management and savings.

The WaterBank is a spare water tank that is housed in or on a roof. It is connected to the incoming water supply, before it reaches the geyser. Municipal water fills the tank, which then supplies water to the geyser and the rest of the house.

The 10-bar-rated WaterBank is manufactured from mild steel, which enables it to be pressurised and makes it less prone to contamination, compared with plastic tanks. It was developed by WaterBank Africa MD and seasoned engineer Les Lange to support a basic household in managing its water use.

The tank automatically fills when the municipal water supply is available and supplies water to a household when municipal supply is interrupted.

It holds 200 ℓ of water – which WaterBank Africa says is calculated to be enough to see a household through short-term water-supply interruptions. Two hundred litres a day for 30 days a month totals 6 000 ℓ a month, which is equivalent to government’s free basic water allocation.

More tanks can be added by paralleling the units. The WaterBank is fully automated and cost effective. Each unit is internally lined with a plastic lining and is completely sealed, therefore, it does not compromise the water quality.

For domestic consumption, each unit costs R4 500, including value-added tax and excluding installation, but the company expects the unit cost to reduce during a high-volume roll-out.

Brown notes that government loses more than R13-billion a year on water losses and nonrevenue water and adds that the WaterBank will be a huge resource in helping to curb domestic-water loss.