Experts have been saying for years that the next world war would be fought over water. What they didn’t say is that it would start in South Africa.

“You know things are pretty dire when the country’s biggest water authority has to launch a programme to stop leaks. It’s like the little Dutch boy who plugs a dike with his finger,” says John Oort of GoZone Health Water.

The company’s ozonated drinking water refill kiosks last year made an appearance in Gauteng supermarkets as consumers were confronted with the reality of dry taps. Now, GoZone Water is preparing for the next water crisis by actively searching for entrepreneurs interested in deploying bulk water kiosks within their own communities.

This is in the unfortunate expectation that South Africa will soon be knocked off its perch as one of only twelve places in the world where potable water can still be safely consumed directly from the tap.

“GoZone water kiosks satisfy the consumer’s growing appetite for large quantities of safe and affordable drinking water that’s becoming scarce at home. It’s a great opportunity as the kiosks also speak to the country’s need for entrepreneurs to help kickstart our stalling economy,” says Oort.

The water kiosks have already found favour with several owners of Pick ‘n Pay family franchises in Gauteng. Shoppers are able to bring any size of water container to the retail kiosks and have them filled with oxygenated water purified by a proprietary reverse-osmosis process including reintroducing healthy minerals to the water at just one rand a litre.

Not only can the kiosks fill a 20 litre container in as little as 10 seconds, but they offer business owners much higher margins compared to bottled water which has to be transported by expensive, fossil-fuel burning diesel trucks.

The company’s offering has recently been extended to incorporate a bulk wrapping station for large orders, ozone treated ice, and low-kilojoule flavoured drink options. All of this means additional revenue streams for the savvy small business owner.

“There’s always opportunity in adversity. The fact that municipal tap water can no longer be completely trusted for drinking water has seen our kiosks going down extremely well with entrepreneurs and consumers alike. The kiosks are two square metre money-making opportunities available to the right partners with access to the right spaces,” concludes Oort.