Water Rhapsody dealers have become authorised dealers for JoJo Tanks countrywide as well as Nel Tanks who operate in a 800km radius of cape Town. Water tanks are available in a wide variety of sizes and dimensions – ranging from 100 litres through to 15000 litres. The most common tanks are the 2500 and 5000 litre tanks. There are also a variety of slimline tanks available.

Water Rhapsody can install your water tank as well as advise and supply you with the various filters (Rainrunners). The full rainwater harvesting system (Grand Opus) is a system that pumps rainwater collected in the water tank, back into your home. For more information contact a water rhapsody dealer to get a free quote.

It seems as though sometimes we get way too much rain and then all of a sudden it stops coming down and we do not have enough. A solution to this inequity is the use of Water Tanks installed by Water Rhapsody. Using water tanks, one can collect rain and stored it for later use.

In North America, these tanks are also called rain barrels, in the UK they are known as rain butts, in Australia they are called Plastic Water Tanks and in South Africa, water tanks or rainwater tanks. No matter what you call them, their purpose is to collect water from rainstorms that can be stored and used later. Usually the tanks are above ground receptacles but sometimes they are built in the ground. This is particularly the case in extremely arid climates where residents fully expect long periods of drought.

Types of tanks may be concrete, plastic or galvanized steel as well as stainless steel and fiberglass which are chemical resistant and rust proof. They are found often on the tops of roofs as well as patios, driveways and other areas with waterproof surfaces.

Water collected in these receptacles may be used for a number of things. Common uses include watering lawns and gardens, household plumbing like toilets and washing machines, and topping up swimming pools. If it is to be used for drinking, special care must be taken to ensure that the water does not get contaminated.

First of all, steps can be taken before the water is collected to help keep it safe. Water Rhapsody use a filter called a rainrunner to include things like screen coverings to prevent dirt, debris, bird droppings and insects from getting inside. Selecting an opaque tank is wise to keep sunlight out and thus reducing the risk of algae growth and an overrun of bacteria. A plastic lining is good to prevent leaks and help maintain high water quality.

It is also imperative that, even if these steps are taken, any water that is drunk is properly filtered. Even thought rain water is pure, it may become contaminated after collection. And while rain does not contain chlorine, air pollutants can affect the water after it is gathered. It is advised not to drink water from rainwater tanks unless there are no other sources of drinkable water.

Werner Neuhoff is the dealer in Mossel Bay and has this answer to the plight of Mossel Bay:

The Garden Route drought is far from over, especially for towns being fed from the Wolwedans dam ( Mossel Bay ). The decision has been taken by the Mossel Bay Municipality to spend in excess of R140m to create a seawater desalination plant, to produce an additional 5 mega litres of water a day. This could have been avoided if the municipality were to encourage citizens to harvest rainwater into water tanks and to re-use greywater for garden irrigation or toilet flushing purposes.

Although none of the business has been encouraged to do so, Shell Truckport (Mosselbay) and Bay Car Spa collectively decided to reuse all greywater from their car wash. Water Rhapsody installed a greywater re-use system, which allows them to harvest all the used car wash water (passed through a filtered system) and then the water will be re-used for toilet flushing purposes.

They will no longer draw fresh municipal water to flush the toilets. By re-using the carwash greywater, they are able to save 1,000,000 litres of water a year!

Ryno Van Zyl from Bay Car Spa said: ‘The drought forced us to look at ways to reduce our water usage, but this is something we should have done a long time ago. We are very proud that we’re able to re-use the water and this is something we’ll continue to do, even when there’s more water available. Our water bill has tripled during the last few months, due to the dam levels being below 25%. We are looking forward to your new bill, as we’ll be using 50% less water than before. After seeing the system in operation, I decided to install a similar Water Rhapsody greywater re-use system at my home.’ (22 June 2010)