Steel water tanks in South Africa

Steel water tanks in South Africa. Image: Supplied

Steel water tanks in South Africa

(Partner Content) South Africa is a country that is naturally water-scarce and is considered the 30th driest country in the world.

Steel water tanks in South Africa

Steel water tanks in South Africa. Image: Supplied

It is stated that the water demand in the country will outstrip the ability to supply by 2030.

There is also a lot of water wastage in the country. To Mannie Ramos Jnr, COO of Abeco Tanks, this is a travesty. “All human beings need to be more aware of the need to treat water like the most important commodity as without it economies cannot function and communities cannot exist,” says Ramos.

A solution for this problem has been, is and will be needed. Abeco saw the need for this solution over 37 years ago and knew that they wanted to plan ahead and develop a product that would assist. 

Abeco Tanks, the company, was started in 1983 and for over 37 years has been supplying steel water storage tanks to countries in the Middle East, Central America and Africa.

For Abeco the function of water storage continues to be the same – to store or “bank” water for times when there is a shortage or an interruption in supply. 

Abeco is a South African business with a factory in Johannesburg. As a South African business, they have taken a stance to only support other South African businesses. All their suppliers are based in South Africa with many of their staff members still with them since 1983 when the company was started. 

Abeco Tanks has been awarded many certifications and accreditations stating that as a company they adhere to strict standards in the manufacturing process of quality products.

Certifications and accreditations include: ASIB, SATAS, ISO9001:2015 and ISF. The ISF guarantees excellence in engineering and in the supply of specialised engineering and solutions for construction.

With the load shedding situation in South Africa most private and public entities have a backup electricity supply. In the same manner they should have a backup water supply.  

Tanks to store water have become imperative for communities, public entities e.g. hospitals and clinics and for success in business, industry and agriculture. 

Water is the backbone of functioning in life. Without it we are not able to perform most functions and of course, our body needs it to survive.

Choosing the correct water storage solution for the need is very important. There have been too many instances where the wrong solution has been chosen and there has been insufficient water supply when it has been needed.

Mannie Ramos Jnr, COO of Abeco Tanks says that this is why it is so important to choose a water tank supplier with a reputation for understanding the unique needs of the purchaser and for know-how, experience and reliability.

A water tank cannot be selected on price alone. It should be selected based on the following criteria:
  1. Does the area have piped water supply to keep the tank constantly filled?
  2. Does the area have electricity so that the water can be pumped from the tank to where it is needed?
  3. Where will the tank be placed?
  4. How many people must the tank supply or how large is the crop that needs to be irrigated?
  5. Is the water for drinking or bathing 
  6. How frequent are the water outages in the area?

Let’s look at two scenarios:

There is an interruption in the water supply to a suburb that has 500 homes in it. Each home in South Africa uses 250 litres of water a day. The municipality puts a water tank in the area for a backup water supply. The water cannot be pumped to the homes but the residents need to drive to the tank to collect water daily. Let’s assume that each person can collect 100 litres a day and the tank can be refilled weekly. The tank would need to hold 350 000 litres of water but due to the fact that some people will draw more a day a 500 000-litre capacity tank will be placed in the area.

In South Africa studies by the department of agriculture shows that 60% of all water supply is used for irrigation of crops. Farms need a backup water supply and it is extremely important that they have the right fit for their needs. If they don’t their financial situation and the supply of their produce could be seriously affected. A farmer would need to ascertain how many litres of water he needs for his crops daily and then work out the size of the required water storage tank.

Plastic water tanks are often purchased because they are less expensive than steel water tanks. However, there are important differences to consider between the two types of tanks.

Ramos lists 7 differences:
  1. Plastic water tanks come in definite sizes whilst steel water tanks can be custom made to fit the need.
  2. Steel water tanks can hold more water than plastic water tanks. The capacity goes from as little as 1800 litres to 50 million litres.
  3. Large water tanks can supply more people more frequently reducing the number of times they need to be filled.
  4. For communities collecting water the tanks can accommodate many taps eliminating long queues.
  5. Steel tanks are modular in design and don’t require heavy machinery for construction. They are therefore easy to transport and install.
  6. All the steel is hot dip galvanised i.e., coated with zinc to avoid corrosion over time. This ensures a long life-span of each tank – up to 40 years and longer in some instances.
  7. The suns rays cannot penetrate the high-quality steel and as a result there is no algae build up in the water.

Abeco is an innovative company that developed and patented precision punching technology. They are able to manufacture water tanks in all shapes and sizes to suit the needs of the purchaser. The tanks range from circular, rectangular, U-shaped, L shaped, odd-shaped to custom shaped. They are elevated, on the roof or on the ground and as previously stated can hold from as much as 50 million litres of water to as little as 1,800 litres of water. 

Developing a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy is very important for a water tank supplier. Purchasers need to know that the supplier they choose will not only give them the correct solution to their problem but that the product will be of high quality and that they will be around as support for a long time after installation.

Abeco Tanks with their on-the-ground experience, expertise and exceptional customer service has earned the reputation over 37 years that they are a supplier that can be relied on.

Read more: Western Cape residents urges to use water sparingly as rainy season ends