Engineering News and Mining Weekly
Bespoke reservoirs could enhance water security
In light of the water crisis and the growing demand for water supply in the country, leading solutions-based water reservoir manufacturer Videx asserts that the construction of tailor-made water reservoirs can make a positive difference in addressing these growing challenges.
The company says water security is a pertinent issue that should be addressed and to emphasise the importance of this, it highlights the key role water reservoirs play in supporting the agriculture, food processing, healthcare, construction and hospitality industries.
Videx strives to manufacture reservoirs that are clean and can sufficiently protect their contents from the elements. As a company that aims to be at the forefront of manufacturing solutions, it contends that there is a synergy between water security and the country’s economic growth prospects.
Videx business development manager Dean Craayenstein hails this year’s National Water Week campaign as a positive step in the right direction. Such education initiatives, he adds, should take place more regularly.
Craayenstein believes private-sector companies creating water-related solutions are the solution to the problem.
“The country’s private sector needs to spend money to lead the way to becoming water secure. Campaigns are expensive and it is difficult to generate sizable profits under the current economic conditions. I believe business needs to support this type of campaign. We need industry to stand up, we need new solutions, and Videx enables companies to be water secure, and enables continuity to make money, to meet their needs.” Craayenstein contends.
Videx storage tanks sales manager Kevin Nell supports the view that private partnerships should deal with the water crisis to stimulate growth across all the business sectors that rely on uninterrupted water supply.
Videx maintains that water reservoirs could bolster efforts in ensuring that water security is actualised throughout the country, and especially in underserved communities.
Amid the significant role that the water has in the agriculture, food processing, healthcare, construction, and hospitality industries, Craayenstein stresses that the private sector has a responsibility to itself. “We believe Videx has a solution to the water security within these sectors, including water supply. All of which have knock-on effects on the country’s socioeconomic prospects.”
To increase investor confidence in the sector, Nell highlights the importance of educating businesses on the extent of water infrastructure solutions facing businesses.
Providing cost-effective solutions to resolve the crisis will be key, as investors will lose interest if water security solutions are protracted, and not rapidly forthcoming, Nell argues.
“We need to promote solutions at shows and campaign further; expose the situation in a positive light, rather than in a negative one, and the biggest buy-in must come from the private sector,” he adds
Videx will play an important role in addressing the water crisis by using its in-house knowledge and technical expertise to design resilient water reservoirs tailored to client requirements.
Craayenstein says that the company has a good route to market and aims to offer additional maintenance support to businesses operating its water reservoirs.
In meeting water security needs, the increasing number of Videx’s water solutions for businesses in the private sector could lead to fewer water shortages, which, in turn, may free up capacity in a municipality and allow for much-needed maintenance and infrastructure development, he argues.
Amid the company’s production challenges, including enhancing its research and development, innovation, and safety capabilities, it maintains institutional memory, with a “constant excess of materials” to ensure that it can construct enough water reservoirs, even if demand increases.
From a climate perspective, the arid conditions of South Africa and the rest of Africa often lead to poor water supply. This, he adds, should provide sufficient impetus for the private sector to find effective solutions that deal with the current and looming water crises, says Craayenstein.
Videx calls for an increase in awareness initiatives that highlight water security challenges in the business sector but maintains that this will require coherent and consistent participation by the private sector, which should align with pertinent and practical measures to address the issues.