As professionals and leaders in the municipal space continue to advocate for water infrastructure development to deliver water to communities, maintenance and upgrades to prevent water loss and secure our precious resource, there is a need to look to alternate solutions that offer quick turnaround times and that are less water-intensive in the construction process than concrete reservoirs.
“As a water-scarce country we cannot continue to develop water infrastructure that involves the use of large volumes of water in the construction process,” says Mava Gwagwa, Director: New Business Development at SBS Tanks. “Traditional concrete water storage solutions are no longer the best solution for every application, even for wastewater or bulk water storage. Concrete reservoirs are very complex structures that involve a costly and time-consuming design, planning and construction process which also utilises a great deal of water.”
eMalahleni Local Municipality, in the Nkangala District of Mpumalanga, required a cost-effective and quick solution to increase bulk potable water storage for the KwaGuqa township, situated west of eMalahleni.
“The immediate need was to increase bulk water storage between the existing 10 million litre concrete reservoir and a 400 000 litre elevated tank which gravity feeds to the community. As part of the first phase, SBS Tanks installed two bulk water tanks, with the combined storage capacity of over 6 million litres,” Gwagwa says. “This stage has been up and running effectively and we have recently completed the next step, installing an additional 9+ million litres storage capacity.”
Due to age and decay, the existing water treatment plant will be decommissioned and the three newly installed bulk water tanks, which store over 3 million litres each, will be fed from a new water treatment plant. Once this plant comes online the SBS Tank “farm,” where five blue SBS Tanks stand proudly within a securely fenced plot, will come into play and feed into the existing supply network via the elevated tank to the community.
“Using modular water storage reservoirs from SBS Tanks gives municipal engineers and managers a fast and effective solution for bulk water storage at community level, for desalination plants, effluent processing and even for the built environment,” Gwagwa says. “They are quick to install and can be commissioned immediately, cost considerably less than traditional concrete structures, and can be installed anywhere, no matter how remote the location. The use of Zincalume® coated steel panels and potable water liner within the structure gives SBS Tanks a lifespan of over 65 years.”
With over two decades of experience serving the water sector, providing water and liquid storage solutions to the municipal, mining, fire protection, commercial and agricultural sectors, SBS Tanks is ready to assist the municipal sector with its bulk water storage needs.
We can help you play your part in supplying cost, time and water-efficient water storage solutions to your municipality.
© SBS Holdings 2026
