In rural Australia, having access to your own private water supply during bushfire season can really be make or break when it comes to saving your home, your farm or your business. Far too many Australians are familiar with the financial devastation and heartbreak that can be inflicted upon you by our long, hot and dry summers. Make sure you’re prepared to protect your home with a fully stocked water storage tank.

In most rural towns, the local water supply is only designed to facilitate everyday domestic and drinking water needs, so if you live or operate a business in an area that’s prone to bush or grass fire, it’s crucial that you have a water storage tank onsite in the event that a fire does occur. Below we’ve given 4 of the main reasons that water tanks are absolutely vital when it comes to fire fighting:

1. The chances of your regular household or business water supply being affected are much higher when a bushfire strikes.
2. When a large number of homeowners in your area are hosing their property down or attempting to fill up buckets, this will likely lead to a drop in water pressure making it much harder for you to take preventative measures around your home or business.
3. If a Country Fire Authority or Rural Fire Service tank arrives to fight the bushfire and needs to use the local water supply to refill their tank, it can often cause your water flow to completely stall leaving you with no access to water. NSW, QLD have VIC have different fittings you can have installed on your tank so fire services can connect to your tanks quickly and easily. Chat with our friendly staff about relevant fittings for your area.
4. The RFS and CFA recommend that if you choose to stay and defend your property during a bushfire you must have access to at least 10,000 litres of water from a source other than the mains water supply. The only way to guarantee immediate access to such a large volume of water for fire fighting is by having a water storage tank on your property.

Tips for Bushfire Season

✓ As we approach the bushfire season, make sure you maintain high water levels in your poly water tank. You never know when you’re going to need your water tank for fire fighting purposes.

✓ If a bushfire does occur, fire services may need to use your water tank to defend your property or the business and homes around you. Having the Stortz specialist fitting on your tank will allow fire services to use your tank.

✓ Make sure you keep the area surrounding the tank completely free of vegetation or foliage that could be set alight in a bushfire. This will block your access to the tank and render the water useless.

✓ If you live or operate in a high-risk zone for bushfires you may want to think about having a fire hose or sprinkler system connected to your water tank and ready to go in the case of an emergency.

At Global Tanks, our poly water storage tanks come in 30 different colours and a huge range of sizes with our largest and best value tanks holding up to 23,500 litres of water(45,000 litres in Victoria). If you have any questions about our water storage tanks or want to learn more about our services and the installation process, get in touch with one of our friendly team members today!

At Global Tanks, we love keeping our customers up to date with agricultural business and community news, especially when we have the opportunity to highlight an increase in support services available to our rural community. Recent changes have been made within the Lockyer Valley Council to ensure that those affected by drought are receiving the help and assistance that they need. Below we have outlined the increase in services but also highlighted a lot of the structures that are in place for those rural businesses and families in need of advice and financial support, whether you live in the Lockyer Valley area or beyond. 

A Local Drought Support Officer

The Lockyer Valley council has recently increased its support for those affected by drought. This support is coming in the form of a Local Drought Support Officer (LDSO), a new role entirely dedicated to helping those who’ve felt the impact of the drought the most. The LDSO will coordinate support services, agencies and programs that are designed to help farms, farmworkers, agricultural businesses and rural families. Mayor Tanya Milligan is urging people to make use of the LDSO and the services available to them stating, “I know it is not always easy to ask for help but Council can now offer greater support for accessing a wider range of services and programs including mental health support. Our LDSO will work closely with various drought-support agencies to assist in further local promotion of appropriate programs for those affected.”

Rural Financial Counselling

The Rural Financial Counselling service (RFCS) allows people who are eligible to receive free, independent financial guidance. The services are entirely impartial and confidential and are designed to ensure that rural operators can work towards financial self-sufficiency. “Free, confidential, impartial, independent assistance is available to help eligible rural clients manage and adjust to volatilities and changes within their business environment.” -RFCS

Rural Assistance Programs

There are various programs that exist to provide drought relief and financial assistance to the farms and businesses of not just the Lockyer Valley but all of rural Queensland. Some examples of these are: The Queensland Government’s Drought Relief Assistance Program, Regional Investment Corporation Loans, the Farm Household Assistance and QRIDA Loans and Products.  Below we have provided a comprehensive list of links for any of the services referred to in the article as well as other helpful services for financial and mental wellbeing. 

Financial Support Services

• Rural Financial Counselling Service
• The Queensland Government’s Drought Relief Assistance Program
• Regional Investment Corporation Loans
• Farm Household Assistance
• QRIDA Loans and Products
• Legal Aid Queensland Farm and Rural Legal Service
• Rural Aid
• Queensland Country Women’s Association

Wellbeing and Mental Health Services

Health Service Navigators Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland: 1300 991 443 New Access Relationships Australia QLD At Global Tanks, we always want to ensure that our customers and community are aware of the support that’s available to them and take advantage of these services. To find out how our tanks, products and custom rotomoulding services can help to boost your agricultural business, get in touch with us today!