The time to bank water like money is here
Water shortages could be the next crisis to hit your home and business. What can you do about it now?
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The old saying “spend money like water” may soon be “spend water like money”. Having an Abeco Tank is like having a water savings account. You bank water in the same way you bank excess capital and draw on it when you need it. More importantly, it’s a better way to reuse water where grey water becomes as valuable as rain run-off.
If you take just South Africa’s water resources by number, a mere 8% of the country’s land area provides 50% of our run off and only 9% of rainfall ends up as run off in our rivers. At least 37% of water is lost in the current urban infrastructure.
More alarmingly, it’s estimated that the demand for water will reach the 17.7 billion cubic metre mark by 2030 which experts say is way beyond the limit of what can be safely allocated. It’s clearly obvious that for a business to thrive in the future across the spectrum of domestic, industrial and fire demands; leaders of industry need to relook at their water banking strategy.
Bank with a trusted partner
Over 35 years, Abeco has developed the most economical solutions to water storage without, as mentioned, compromising safety, hygiene quality and durability. The company is keeping its overseas competitors at bay with a revolutionary approach to how it thinks about water and a dedication to harnessing modern technology to bank water as cost-effectively as possible.
Abeco Water Storage Tanks are a familiar sight across the African continent. The company has been in business for over 35 years and has a global footprint across some 38 countries; including Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, Central America, Middle East and spanning the entire African continent.
The company is not only a leader in the production of industrial-size tanks, Abeco is also leading the field in innovation where they’ve developed cost-effective solutions to water storage without compromising safety, hygiene quality and durability.
Surprisingly, the design has stayed the same since it first reached the market in 1983. Refinements that have been made affect form and functionality such as changing from steel to Supraform steel and introducing galvanised tanks so the stored water is unaffected by ultraviolet or light penetration.
In 2013, Abeco adapted its product range to expand its footprint in the waste water, dry bulk storage and digester market. It did this by adding a powder-coated circular tank to its range that is now the #1 performance interior tank lining available for water and wastewater storage. These tanks are supplied with aluminum geodesic domes which are the best dome covers for its applications.
Innovations aside, it’s the thought leadership at Abeco Tanks that’s most impressive. CEO Mannie Ramos and his team view their role as facilitating water banking as opposed to water storage. It’s a paradigm shift brought on by the impending water crisis that businesses around the world face.
The new thinking on water
Unsustainable watershed conditions, pollution and weak water governance mean that companies like Abeco Tanks are rethinking how they think about water. The company does not merely market state-of-the-art water storage vessels; rather they promote the concept of banking water so this precious resource is available when you need it most.
It may be the natural cycle of El Nino or a more prolonged outcome of global warming but water scarcity has set global alarm bells ringing and by all accounts, it’s a problem that’s not going to go away anytime soon.
Most climate models forecast that individual countries will receive the same quantity of precipitation that it has historically; it will just arrive more erratically. Right now in southern Africa, we have most of South Africa in the grip of a drought while Mozambique and Zimbabwe have experienced the worst floods in living memory.
Experts say the climate shift requires businesses to invest in water and embrace strategies to bank it as we would any valuable currency in the world.
What is water banking?
On the other side of the world, states like Arizona and California are actively banking underground water as a hedge against population growth and possible cutbacks due to low water levels. This new phenomenon is known as water banking and it’s opened up a different conversation, not to mention a legal can of worms as more and more cases are taken to court over who has rights to the water and who can use it.
Large-scale groundwater banking is a critical element that global leaders of industry are tackling to protect themselves against crippling droughts, loss of income, loss of jobs and in all likelihood, business closures. Doomsayers predict war will be waged over water in much the same way as it has in the past over oil, gold and diamonds. Will we have Blood Water like we had Blood Diamonds? Let’s hope not.
Underground storage is superior to surface storage; the main reason being it’s cheaper than the cost of reservoir expansion. However, we’re not there yet in southern Africa. It requires extensive infrastructure and the willingness of government to invest in large-scale underground water storage projects. Can you afford to wait?
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