What Was the Challenge?
Communities across the Marshall Islands face increasing water insecurity as climate change drives more frequent and severe drought conditions. With many communities located across remote and dispersed islands, access to reliable drinking water is difficult, particularly during prolonged dry periods.
The project needed to improve year-round water availability for households and community facilities, while overcoming significant logistical challenges. Any storage solution had to be transported by sea, transferred onto smaller vessels for remote island access, and installed in locations with limited infrastructure and specialist labour.
What Was the Implementation Solution?
The UNDP-led ACWA programme was established to improve water security and drought resilience across 115 communities in the Marshall Islands.
In 2022, KlipTank was awarded a contract to supply up to 280 flatpack modular water-storage tanks, with individual capacities of approximately 34,000–56,000 litres. The tanks provide storage for harvested rainwater and were selected for their suitability for sea transport, assembly on remote islands and demanding coastal conditions.
KlipTank trained local project personnel and government technicians in tank installation, enabling those teams to pass on the skills to community volunteers installing tanks in their villages.
Advantages and Benefits of the Solution
The flatpack modular approach offered major advantages for a remote island deployment programme. Because the tanks could be transported in a compact format, they were easier and more efficient to ship than fully assembled storage units, particularly where final delivery required smaller boats and limited shore access.
Installation could be completed using trained local teams rather than relying entirely on external specialist contractors. This supported faster deployment, reduced logistical complexity and helped build local capability for future maintenance and expansion.
The solution also provided flexible storage capacity, allowing tank sizes to be selected according to community demand and site conditions. Its durable construction was suited to harsh island environments, where reliability and low maintenance are critical.
Most importantly, the programme was designed to improve access to safer, more dependable drinking water for 2,606 households and 160 community facilities, strengthening resilience against drought and helping remote communities adapt to the growing effects of climate change.