Water Storage Tanks

Needs Address

• Supply of fresh water for domestic use
• Conservation of water resources

Adaptation effects

• Increases water security
• Provides a source of freshwater for agricultural use and consumption
• Provides a source of water in periods of drought
• Increased agricultural productivity

Overview and Features

Water tanks for storing water collected in rainy seasons for use in periods of low rainfall.

Cost

• Costs for equipment – dependent on materials used to construct the water tank and on the equipment used to collect the water
• E.g. in Taiwan, an investment 500,000 USD has been used to construct 3,800 small to medium size water tanks with a total storage capacity of approximately 140,000 tons
• Costs for cleaning and maintenance – e.g. In Sri Lanka, households pool funds by making small contributions to pay for maintenance and repair of community water tanks
• Costs for training

Energy source

Human resources to install

Ease of maintenance

Requires maintenance and cleaning

Technology performance

• Enables storage of large quantities of water
• Combination of water storage with savings schemes has been found to be one of the most effective approaches for enhancing resilience to climate change

Considerations

• Planning and design of water storage tanks and capacity must account for the changing flows of rivers, and other sources of water, induced by climate change
• Water tanks can provide breeding grounds for insects such as mosquitoes, thereby enhancing the risks of malaria and other waterborne diseases.
• Water tanks should be employed as one element of water resource management approach 

Co-benefit, suitability for developing countries

• A more regular supply of water for improved health conditions
• Management of community level storage tanks must be addressed to ensure equality in access to supplies
• The type of storage used depends on the particular needs and socio-economic conditions of the location and scale of implementation
• The use and adaptation of traditional water storage technologies enables a more successful diffusion process in the adoption of water storage tanks
• Training for use and construction of water storage tanks is fairly straightforward

Information Resources

IWMI, n.d. Water Storage and Climate Change. Available from: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/issues/water-storage/water-storage-and-climate-change/ [18 January 2015]

Smith, J. 2013. Water Storage key to climate change adaptation. Forest News. Available from: http://blog.cifor.org/20240/water-storage-key-to-climate-change-adaptation#.VLtVLGSUfHM [18 January 2015]

USAID, 2012. Potable Water Systems. Available from: http://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1865/Infrastructure_PotableWaterSystems.pdf [18 January 2015]