Our aim is to provide the greater Cape Town area with easy to use, cost effective water conservation devices and solutions.
From basic rainwater tanks to full scale rainwater harvesting solutions, from grey water irrigation systems to pool backwash water re-use and toilet flushing mechanisms, our water conservation products cover every inch of the home.

As registered dealers of Nel and JoJo tanks, we can source, deliver and install rain water tanks anywhere around Cape Town at the best possible prices. The past two years have seen a steep increase in the number of people looking to harvest their rain water and create their own supply. We are very proud of our many happy customers that are doing their bit to conserve this most precious resource.
If it’s rainwater harvesting you’re after, we have a solution for each application, so no matter what you want to do, we’re bound to be able to help.

For the garden enthsiast and true water conservationist, we have a grey water system second to none called the Garden Rhapsody. You absolutely cannot beat this product for functionality and quality. And the feel good factor is fantastic. There are truely few things better in this world than knowing every time you bath or shower or wash your clothes, that you are getting a second use out of that water. And the best bit…… it’s all automated.

Water Solutions in partnership with Water Rhapsody are doing beautiful things for the residents of Cape Town and we’re here to help. Whether you’re thinking big or small we have a solution to suit your needs. From large scale installations to some simple water conservation ideas for the home (as well as a comprehensive list of water savings tips) we can help. Every drop saved counts, so do what you can.

We look forward to hearing from you,
Cheers… Shaun.

Water tanks are easy enough to buy, and while tricky to get over the boundary wall, are easy enough to place under a downpipe. But if you’re like me, you’re probably thinking… I don’t want that massive water tank standing next to my house where everyone can see it. Then there’s the issue of cleaning it when it gets full of leaves and dirt carried in by the rain water. And probably most importantly, how do I use the rain water once I have harvested it.

At Water Solutions we have the answers to all these questions.

First lets talk location. With our system you can now position your water tank just about anywhere in your garden, so you can hide it behind a tree or bush if you so desire, and the distance from your buildings and dowpipes is no issue.
Then there’s the dirty water in the tank problem. With our Rain Runner filtration units attached to the downpipes, only the clean water gets through and into the tank, drastically reducing your maintenance.
Finally… how to access the water and what to do with it. We offer you three solutions ranging in price and benefit (details below).

The first option is a simple ball valve and hosepipe attached to the tank facilitating flood irrigation or topping up of a pool, the second is to add a submersible pump allowing you to wash the car or attach a sprinkler, and the third is the ‘big daddy’ of water conservation, augmenting your municipal water supply INSIDE your home using the Water Rhapsody Grand Opus. Allowing you to bath, shower or wash your hands and laundry with the free rainwater straight out of your taps.

The price of these solutions is dependant on a site visit and quote as each job is different, but you can use the pricing below detailing different water tank sizes as a fairly accurate guideline.

Solution 1: One 5000l tank, a Rain Runner, piping and connections between the two, ball valve tap, 10m hosepipe and overflow
- R8 000.00
Solution 1: One 2500l tank, a Rain Runner, piping and connections between the two, ball valve tap, 10m hosepipe and overflow
- R7 000.00

Solution 2: One 5000l tank, 2 Rain Runners, all piping and connections, submersible pump, electrical work, ball valve tap, 30m hosepipe, sprinkler and overflow
- R12 500.00

Solution 2: Two 2500l tank, 2 Rain Runners, all piping and connections, submersible pump, electrical work, ball valve tap, 30m hosepipe, sprinkler and overflow
- R12 980.00

Solution 3: pricing of the Grand Opus fluctuates greatly depending on the building, so no example pricing on this one unfortunately, but contact us if you’d like to find out about it.

Discount: we offer a 5% discount on all quoted prices for accounts settled within 5 working days of completion of work.

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If you have more questions around Rainwater Harvesting, take a look at our FAQ section, it’s bound to answer most queries you have.

And if you’d like more information on these rain water harvesting solutions, or a personalised quote for installation, use the Contact Us page or drop us an email, we’d love to hear from you and help you make a difference.

Our most commonly bought and installed rain water tank sizes and prices can be found here.

There are three factors that should be taken into account when selecting your tank size.
Firstly, how big is your rain water collection area? For most people this is the roof of their home.
Secondly, what do you intend to do with the harvested rainwater? Is it for irrigation? Or for use inside the home?
Thirdly, what is the average annual rainfall in your area?

With the Water Rhapsody water tank size application, we can accurately calculate the perfect size for your home and family. For example, we take into account that roughly 16mm of rain on 1oo square meters of tilled roof, will yield 1000 litres of water in your tank. So depending on your roof size, you may well be able to fill a 5000l tank with a single days worth of rain, but do you really need a 5000l tank? To determine this, the application also uses the average regional rainfall figures, and most importantly the number of occupants in the home.

If you want to harvest rainwater for irrigation purposes or to top up a pool then space available for the tank to stand is your only real consideration. However, if using that water inside your home is the nirvana you are seeking (and we can help you get there) then number of occupants becomes vital to the calculation.

In an ideal world, your tank would never overflow, and never be empty. Some people take this to mean “install as much capacity as possible”, but that’s not financially viable. What you really want to do is calculate as accurately as possible what size tank you can fill and draw down on as many times as possible, without it running empty. Your return on investment is directly related to this draw down process, as the more times you fill it and empty it, the less it has cost you per use.

The number of occupants in your house has a big impact on this draw down process. The average daily water consumption of a single person in SA is 150 litres, so a four person home would use around 600l a day. This average family of four would therefore empty a 5000l water tank in around 8 days.

In an even more ideal world, it would therefore need to rain every 8 days to top up the tank, and you’d live off the water grid. BUT we know this is never the case, so by including the average rainfall in your area, mm per day, we are able to calculate as closely as possible the size of tank that your rainfall would fill and your family would empty.

If you live in the Cape Town area, and would like us to calculate the most appropriate water tank size for your home, drop us an email to shaun@watersolutions.co.za telling us roughly how many square meters of roof you have, and how many people live in your home. We’ll happily provide you with an estimate of size and costing.

1. Saves up to 90% of the money you spend on your water bill.
2. All the Water Rhapsody Systems are environmentally sound.
3. Reduces municipal water demand by as much as 97%.
4. Reduces sewerage outfall by more than 90%
5. Reduces toilet flushing by at least 70%.
6. Reduces the capital needed for expensive dam building, and eliminates the need for new sewerage treatment works.
7. You do not have to change your lifestyle.
8. You irrigate automatically while you use water.
9. Stored water is available during future water outages.
10. You have adequate water for irrigation.

11. Rich water: Reduced demand for any garden fertilizers.
12. Very cost effective, amortization in the short term.
13. Reduces phosphates at sewerage works by at least 50%.
14. Storm water from roofs to street is almost eliminated.
15. Large yet unobtrusive (out of site) water tanks.
16. Pipes from house to water tanks hidden underground.
17. Reduces the need to top up swimming pools.
18. Eliminates pool backwash from sewers and streets.
19. Simple designs and concepts, guaranteed for one year.
20. All systems are very easy to maintain.
21. Quick and easy to install. All work done in two days.
22. Exempt from all forms of water restrictions.
23. Personalized installation and after sales service.
24. Track record of more than 3000 installations.
25. Option of override during a power outage.
26. Improves the quality of your lifestyle.
27. Benefit of experience of 12 years of conserving water.
28. All products invented and backed up by the inventor.
29. You join the happy family of conservationists.
30. Education: Systems imbue one with passion to conserve.
31. Thirty good sustainable reasons to use Water Rhapsody Conservations Systems.

The prices below are total costs, including roadside delivery to anywhere in the greater Cape Town area. If the tank size you are looking for is not listed, or you have questions, don’t hesitate to make contact with us via our contact form or the details on the about us page.

Both Nel and JoJo manufacture polyethylene tanks with a black inner lining to preserve the water for human consumption. All tanks carry a five year guarentee provided the tank is correctly installed. These are vertical water tanks, and cannot be buried underground or used to store chemicals.

Click here to see the available colour ranges for each manufacturer.

This is a good read, and I’m glad to see that concern is being shown before it’s too late. The only thing that really scares me about the statements below is that the City seems to think that ground water is the solution. Somehow acquifers that can take decades to recharge is seen as an answer. That’s pretty short term thinking in my opion.

Cape Town – Tens of thousands of migrants pouring into Cape Town are forcing authorities to rethink the city’s water supply strategy. “There are quite large numbers of people coming in and the city needs to review its water-use growth strategy,” department of water affairs’ Western Cape chief director, Rashid Khan, told Sapa.

He said assumptions made by Cape Town’s water planners in 2007 were “now being overtaken by some serious developments, that is (population) growth”. His remarks followed an announcement by the department that it was “exploring initiatives to ensure that water use in and around Cape Town does not outstrip supply in the near future”.

It had recently learned that “water use may be growing faster than anticipated”, despite significant successes achieved by the city in reducing water usage. “An increase in demand could have serious implications for the supply area, as the next augmentation project may well have to be fast-tracked to ensure an adequate supply of water to every city, town and industry that gets its water from the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS).

“These include the City of Cape Town and towns such as Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Saldanha and Paarl,” it said. According to Seth Maqetuka, director for strategic urbanisation in the city’s housing directorate, so-called “migration growth” now outstrips Cape Town’s “natural” growth rate. He said migration growth was now “16 000 households per annum” compared to natural growth of 11 000 households a year.

The city works on an estimated five people per household, so, taking the above figures into account, its population – 3.7 million, according to a 2010 estimate provided by Maqetuka – is growing by about 135 000 people a year, of whom about 80 000 are migrants. Figures on the city’s website show that in 2006, Cape Town’s natural growth exceeded migration growth, which suggested a big spike in the number of migrants over the past four years. “Most of the in-migration to Cape Town comes from the Eastern Cape,” the website states. Maqetuka said the city did not have any recent migration statistics, but conceded that “it is likely that migration growth is greater than natural growth”. Khan warned that Cape Town could not continue being almost totally dependent on rainfall for its water supply.

“The city… is one that relies about 90-odd percent on storage of water… 90-odd percent falls in winter; 90-odd percent is used in summer. You have to store water. “Water security is based 100% on rainfall. And that is where I am not comfortable… We only need one year with little rainfall, and then the dams run dry,” he said.

While the city still had spare capacity, thanks to the recently-completed Berg River Dam, the time had arrived for it to institute “augmentation” efforts, in the form of stricter demand management, recycling, desalination and ground water supply, among others. “At the moment we’ve got a surplus… but, looking at the high water requirement curve, we’ll reach capacity by 2012/13 if there is no water savings… With water savings, we will reach this point in 2018.” Currently, the city used about 331.8 million m³ of water a year. Khan said the national department had given Cape Town R17.5m “to make sure they are 100% successful with water saving”.

If such savings – to be achieved through water demand management and water re-use (recycling) – did not suffice, the next step was desalination. “This will give us 66 million m³ a year, almost the volume of the Berg River Dam…. This is considered expensive, but if it is a high-growth scenario, we’ll have to go there,” he said. It is understood a site near Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station is being considered for a desalination plant, to take advantage of the off-peak power the utility could supply. “Desalination may be an expensive option when you have other water, but it is the only option if you don’t have any rainfall… Less reliance on rainfall; that will give us better water security,” Khan said.

He further noted that the effects of climate change, if severe, could bring forward the construction of augmentation projects. Climate forecasts for the next few decades do not bode well for the region’s water supply. According to a 2005 department of agriculture report, the Western Cape “is likely to become warmer and drier over time…(with) reduced water in the rivers”. Khan said national, provincial and local government were working on a joint 25-year water strategy plan.

He said the city had done well with its water management in the last decade, and had achieved “significantly more than” the 20% water-savings target it had agreed to in 1999. Ninety percent of the city’s current water demand was for domestic and commercial use, with the agricultural and industrial sectors “not significant” consumers. The strategy plan also included the use of ground water. The city had “not moved seriously” on ground water use, but was now looking at this option.

“I would be more comfortable if we had more ground water to give us back-up,” Khan said.

Original Article published on www.news24.co.za

1 – When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

2 – Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, pavement or street.

3 – Run your washing and dishwashing machines only when they are full. You can save up to 3000 litres a month.

4 – Install a pool cover and check for leaks around your pumps.

5 – Keep a water bottle in the fridge instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.

6 – Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.

7 – Spreading a layer of organic mulch around plants retains moisture and saves water, time and money.

8 – Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and paving.

9 – Collect the water you use for rinsing fruits and vegetables, then reuse it to water houseplants.

10 – When buying new appliances, consider those that offer cycle and load size adjustments. They’re more water and energy efficient.

11 – Upgrade older toilets with water efficient models – or fit a Water Rhapsody Multi-Flush to minimise the water flushed away.

Water Saving Device used in Japan – we think the Multi-Flush is a little more elegant !!!

12 – Adjust your lawn mower to a higher setting. A taller lawn shades roots and holds soil moisture better than if it is cut short.

13 – Use sprinklers for large areas of grass. Water small patches by hand to avoid waste.

14 – Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak. Fixing it can save up to 3000 litres a month.

15 – When running a bath, put the plug in before turning the water on, then adjust the temperature as it fills up.

16 – Collect water from your roof through rainwater harvesting to water your garden or fill your pool. Even better, pump the harvested water into the house using a Water Rhapsody Grand Opus, then you help the environment as well as save yourself money, in fact the system should pay for itself over the medium term.

17 – Designate one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.

18 – Don’t use running water to thaw food. Defrost your food in the sun or even the fridge for water efficiency.

19 – Teach your children to turn off taps tightly after each use.

20 – Use a water-efficient showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and can save you up to 2600 litres a month.

21 – Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.

22 – Don’t water your lawn on windy days when most of the water blows away or evaporates.

23 – Water your plants deeply but less frequently to encourage deep root growth and drought tolerance.

24 – To decrease water from being wasted on sloping lawns, water for five minutes and then repeat two or three times.

25 – Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, you could save as much as 150 litres a month.

26 – Set a kitchen timer when watering your lawn or garden to remind you when to stop. A running hose can discharge up to 35 litres a minute.

27 – Next time you add or replace a flower or shrub, choose a low water use plant for year-round garden color and save up to 2000 litres a year.

28 – If your dishwasher is new, cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.

29 – Wash your car on the lawn, and you’ll water your grass at the same time.

30 – Leave lower branches on trees and shrubs and allow fallen leaves to accumulate on the soil. This keeps the soil cooler and reduces evaporation.

31 – Use sprinklers that deliver big drops of water close to the ground. Smaller water drops and mist often evaporate before they hit the ground.

32 – Turn off the shower water while you wash your hair, you could save up to 550 litres a month.

33 – Wash your pets outdoors in an area of your lawn that needs water.

34 – Aerate your lawn at least once a year so water can reach the roots rather than run off the surface.

35 – Turn off the water while you shave and save up to 1000 litres a month.

36 – When you give your pet fresh water, don’t throw the old water down the drain. Use it to water your trees or shrubs.

37 – If you accidentally drop ice cubes when filling your glass from the freezer, don’t throw them in the sink. Drop them in a house plant instead.

38 – Always reuse your towels, it saves on water and energy costs.

39 – When backwashing your pool, use a Poolside Tank to clean the water and return it to the pool. This saves you money and the environment, as the chlorinated water is not dumped to the storm water drains (read: river systems).

40 – Install a Garden Rhapsody to re-route your grey water (shower, bath, hand basin, clothes washer) to your trees and gardens rather than letting it run into the sewer line.

41 – When washing your hands, don’t let the water run while you lather.

Every Single Drop Counts

If you’re looking for more water saving tips, try the Johannesburg Water pdf or the  City of Cape Town water saving website, they have a pdf too.

While having a water tank is a great idea, it’s how you fill it and what you do with it that counts. Water Solutions offer you a number of installation options to suit your needs and pocket. From topping up a watering can with a hose, to pumping that water out via a sprinkler for garden irrigation or washing the car, all the way to sending your free harvested rainwater back into the home so you can bath, shower or wash your hands with it, we can do it all.

Our system of filtering the rainwater at source means only clean water reaches the water tank. In turn this minimises the maintenance requirements of your tank, and the quality of water stored increases the options for use. Plenty of our customers drink and cook with this water.

Our price for sale and road side delivery of a 5000l JoJo water tank in Cape Town is R3 245.00 – you will not find a better price in the Cape ! And in the miniscule chance that you do, prove it and we’ll beat it !!!

For a full list of our most popular tank sizes, dimensions, colours and prices, click here.

And please do use the Contact Us page, or drop us an email if you’d like more information on our water tank options, or to get a free quote for a full installation.

by Herman Singh
Sent: 30 June 2010 06:07 PM

I wrote this on my blackberry in my personal capacity. First time that I’ve felt the need to share via email like this. Feel free to share on.

“The headlines in RSA read the same old dismal news. World cup too expensive. No way to recoup investment. World cup over capitalized… and more in that vein. I read this as I prepared for a journey across 5 continents in 5 weeks, flying in and out of Jhb, and at times being out during the world cup, much to my disappointment.

I had accepted all of these stories at face value until I started with my first flight to Uganda. There I discovered that our African brethren we so proud of us for bringing the world cup here. They were praying for our success in hosting it (if not always rooting for our own soccer team). The excitement was palatable and people were clearly seeing us as the leading members of Africa. This fabulous continent with almost a billion people is perhaps more critical to our future well-being in terms of personal perceptions than the rest of the world!

It struck me then that the PR on South Africa outside the country was hugely positive and actually, you cannot BUY a positive spin like that. In RSA we complain about the cost of this world cup, yet the world now sees us as a positive and happy place to visit and do business with! An amazing dichotomy!

Shortly after that I was in India and was amazed by the extremely great and positive reporting happening on our country. From airports and highway upgrades to the amazing stadiums that have become status symbols on our own continent. The Indians were clearly impressed with our rapid progress as a unified nation and welcomed us as fellow serious fast-growing emerging market-players.

I flew via Dubai and the airport was blazoned with images of our country and the brand “South Africa” had become sexy and exciting in my mind. A transformation of amazing importance was taking place in the collective consciousness of the travelers around me. I often sensed envy in my fellow travelers when they heard were I was from, and more importantly where I was returning to.

I was then in Brazil where South Africa was emblazoned everywhere from billboards and airports to newspapers and TV ads in the soccer crazy nation. Even the domestic airline had this amazing one-hour-video which they played on how well we and Africa had done in preparing for this event. Always positive, and promoting our country in the most positive way that I’ve ever seen or heard. Socially redeeming, nationally relevant, and inspirational was my summary.

I then flew SAA to the USA, and was quite moved to hear our pilots try to talk about soccer over the intercom (and in Portuguese) to a resounding applause from the Brazilian soccer fans on the plane. By now my chest was bursting with pride for my country, my team, my nation and my continent.

The trip to the USA, a country where soccer is not the most publicized sport, was the most amazing of all. Everywhere that I went, I was asked why I was out of my country at this incredible time in history (BBC even interviewed me on this point). I lost count of the number of times that I saw the words “South Africa” from the east to the west coast of the USA. From mobile TV vans at central park, to pubs in San Francisco, and even in the sports section of USA papers that grudgingly referred to this event. ESPN coverage was amazing as were the ads, and they all painted South Africa as a nation that was now a first world country and hosting one of the best world cups ever. Praise was heaped on the country from our fans and united-population, to the fact that our team had done well (given their ranking prior to the event).

At JFK there were people proudly wearing bafana bafana shirts (a USA fashion accessory now in its own right – I think that it’s now the unofficial-world-cup-shirt WORLDWIDE). And the dreaded and much-cursed vuvuzela was now becoming an American icon as I noted from fans at the airport returning to the USA. I lost count of the numbers of those instruments that I saw there. What really knocked me flat was when I found a group blowing them in union square in San Francisco. The top-of-the-pile belongs to the story of a baseball team handing out 15000 of these items to their fans before a game, to totally scare the living daylights out of their opponents! The world of sports-noise will never be the same again!

I returned, humbled, by what we have accomplished as a nation.

Now I’m a senior executive, who is hard-nosed, and has been for 30 years or so, but I was very moved by all of this. So much so, that I thought that I would share this with as many South Africans as possible.

South Africans: Be proud, stand tall, hold your head high. You have every reason to be very proud of yourself and we have honored the great Madiba in the best way possible.

There are a lot of issues in our country but when I see this, I dare to dream. I see a nation that has high ambitions and hope, and punches WAY outside of its weight-limit. A nation unified to show the world what it can do. A nation!!! Wow, that alone is enough!
So smile, my beloved country! You have done well”

See? Told you it would be worth it.
Cheers, Shaun.

The city council will soon be asked to give the financial green light to a R1,7-billion, multi-year bulk water augmentation project.

A report discussed at the utility services portfolio committee yesterday notes that additional bulk water supply infrastructure has become critical, to increase the water treatment, bulk storage and conveyance capacity of the city’s bulk water supply system.

The total capital cost of the bulk water augmentation system is estimated at R1,7bn, and the implementation time frame at about six years.

In his budget speech in March, mayoral committee (Mayco) member for finance Ian Neilson said while the scheme would not significantly affect the 2010/11 financial year’s budget, a tariff increase, projected to be 8 percent above inflation, would need to be phased in in subsequent years.

The additional infrastructure was necessary to ensure the system could continue to supply potable water during peak demand periods, as population and economic growth fuelled demand.

“If the infrastructure is not implemented timeously, the risk of having to implement water restrictions in some areas of Cape Town, or across the entire city during peak water demand periods in the hot dry summer months, will progressively increase,” the report said.

At a meeting of the mayoral committee in 2005, the proposed scheme was identified as a key component of the city’s water services development plan. But long-term funding approval has now become urgent, and the city council will be asked to recognise that allowance will have to be made for the project in the city’s budget for the next six years.

Bulk Water manager Peter Flower noted in yesterday’s report that he needed to “reinforce the urgent need to finalise the funding mechanism in order that the early stages of the project will not be compromised, resulting in delays in final implementation”. Flower told the Cape Argus that it was critical that the project now be accommodated in the city’s long-term budget planning, and that it not be pushed back another year. It was essential for long-term planning and to ensure the city’s water supply, as well as to ensure minimal impact in terms of tariff spikes.

Original article from: IOL
Written by: Ella Smook