We are facing a water crisis in South Africa due to population growth, urbanisation, recurrent droughts, climatic variations, deteriorating raw water quality and insufficient water infrastructure investment. We need #AllHandsOnDeck to find solutions. SBS will be at WISA2020, 7 – 11 December. Click here to register and visit our Virtual Exhibition booth.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) were established as a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.
SDG6 addresses the lack of, and need for, clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation for all. Despite the goal being tabled globally in 2015 and progress being made in many places, these goals are far from being achieved. According to the UN billions still lack access to water and sanitation services. 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water (2017) and 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation (2017). Of the 2.2 billion people who lack safely managed drinking water, 785 million are without basic drinking water.
Why is equitable access to water a priority?
Access to safe drinking water and sanitation services is a basic human right. A right that billions are denied daily. Imagine your world without clean water? Nothing safe to drink, use for cooking or preparing baby bottles or to use to keep your hands clean and sanitary. In the current times, with the Covid-19 pandemic, this lack of access to water for regular handwashing has become even more of a health risk.
In South Africa access to sufficient water is a Constitutional Right. We need #AllHandsOnDeck in finding viable, affordable, and accessible water storage, management, and water protection solutions.
Water improves health: Running water and access to sanitation improves health outcomes. Clean water for drinking and cooking, and sanitary sewage disposal reduces the spread of disease and waterborne infections.
Water leads to food security: School, community or doorstep gardens require access to water. The agricultural sector, facing droughts and climate change require access to water. Without reliable and sustainable access to water, crop losses are increased, leading to food supply shortages and challenging food security.
Water supports industry and builds the economy: Without water, industry cannot function. The challenge of disruptions to municipal supply, the movement of industry to more affordable remote locations and establishment of facilities to meet the needs of rural communities, including housing developments and retail facilities, require access to water where infrastructure either does not exist, is insufficient to meet growing needs or is lagging in its establishment.
Water improves access to education and safety. In South Africa, in rural or impoverished communities, women and children are largely responsible for the collection of water for homes where piped water is not accessible. Children, and mostly girls under the age of 15, walk long distances to access clean water for drinking, cooking, and daily tasks such as bathing or the washing of clothes. This results in school-dropouts or lack of attention at school, due to tiredness or lack of basic hygiene standards.
Water can break the cycle of poverty: Access to water can reduce the stress on family, improve access to education and reduce food scarcity, helping to break the cycle of poverty. Plumbed water protects women and girls from the safety risks they are exposed to when collecting water and the health risks of using open pit latrines, especially during monthly menses.
With only a decade left to achieve SDG6 by 2030, SBS® is playing a part in helping to achieve equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene for all. Partnering with municipalities and low-income housing developers to install durable, effective water solutions that support the growing water needs of communities. Working to improve water quality by providing safe, budget friendly modular water tank storage systems, SBS is able to quickly install potable or waste-water reservoirs no matter how remote the location.
Let us help you eliminate or reduce the dumping of water that can be recycled and safe for reuse, substantially increase your water-use efficiencies in your industrial, agricultural, mining or housing development to address water scarcity or harvest rainwater. Partner with us for a custom designed, modular water storage tank fitted with a potable liner to prevent water contact with and rusting of the structure, designed to fit site footprint – no matter how small.
WISA2020, a completely virtual event this year, brings together key experts and exhibitors from a variety of disciplines within the water industry. From municipal, to commercial and domestic players, as the theme for 2020 suggests, we need #AllHandsOnDeck to tackle the water crisis we are facing, with an ever-increasing gap between water supply and water demand.
Register to visit the virtual SBS stand at WISA2020 and let’s chat to find a solution to your water storage or rainwater harvesting needs or visit www.sbstanks.com
Resources:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
https://thewaterproject.org/why-water/water-crisis
© SBS Holdings 2026
