R5,000 protection against South Africa’s next major crisis

South African homes can get integrated water backup systems from around R5,000 to protect themselves against what could become the country’s next major infrastructure crisis.

In March 2025, the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) warned that the country’s water infrastructure was at a critical juncture.

“Millions of South Africans are grappling with dry taps, unreliable supply, and deteriorating infrastructure,” Saice said.

Saice said the underfunding of operations and maintenance and increasing water resource scarcity pose significant challenges.

It said the crisis had been exacerbated by rapid population growth and urbanisation, climate change, inefficient water management, poorly maintained infrastructure, and unequal water resource distribution.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has estimated that to avoid a crisis, it would need to spend R90 billion annually over the next decade to upgrade and maintain water infrastructure.

While Treasury has allocated R156 billion to DWS in the proposed budget for 2025/26, Saice is concerned that municipalities lack the engineering expertise to use the funding effectively.

Authorities also have their hands full with the many illegal water connections and leaks that go undetected.

Rand Water recently began a series of major repairs and upgrades that have left large areas of Gauteng without water for several days.

It will carry out several more projects during June and July 2025, and many areas in Johannesburg and Pretoria are expected to be without water for hours or days.

A backup water storage system is a great way for households to protect themselves from these types of outages.

While a standalone water tank can be useful, integrating the system with your home’s piping is ideal, as you will be able to use your regular appliances and water outlets.

Similar to a solar power installation, an integrated backup water system is not a one-size-fits-all. Different households will have varying requirements in terms of capacity and peak consumption.

Tank capacity

The first important component is the water storage tank, which is like the system’s battery. Common home backup water tanks can hold 250 to over 5,000 litres.

According to the water and sanitation department, the average person in the country consumes 237 litres of water per day.

That would mean a household with just one person would need at least 1,659 litres of backup water for a week of supply.

However, with some moderate water-saving habits, one person’s consumption can be much lower than that.

In the table below, we have summarised how much water some common applications should consume to give a rough estimate of an individual’s weekly water use.

Peak power

The booster pump is the second major component in an integrated backup water system, which transfers water from the tank into your home’s piping.

The pump should provide adequate flow for water to be distributed via all the taps and other access points you want to use during a water outage.

Booster pumps typically have a flow rating measured in litres per minute, which is a helpful indicator of how much water can be supplied at any given moment.

A shower runs at 7.5ℓ to 10ℓ per minute. If two people showered at the same time, a pump would need to support between 15ℓ and 20ℓ of flow per minute.

A single person or couple should easily get away with the generally available 0.37kW pump for a small or medium-sized home unless they want to use more than three taps or water points at a time.

These pumps support a flow of around 30 litres per minute and are highly power-efficient. They would theoretically be capable of running three showers simultaneously with good pressure.

However, due to the house’s layout, there may be some flow losses, especially if the tank is at a lower height than the taps, like in a multi-storey house.

It should also be noted that a booster pump makes noise while it runs. Higher-capacity pumps tend to be noisier than lower-capacity units, but more expensive units can also be quieter.

In addition to the tank and pump, the system will require piping, valves, brackets, and a floating level indicator, which could add costs of around R500 to R1,000.

Installation will also vary depending on the provider, but several on the market can do a straightforward installation for under R1,000.

The table below provides a breakdown of potential tank and booster pump capacities for households of varying sizes, as well as an estimated cost for the systems.