Ten central west farmers have received a new household water tank, installed by volunteer tradies, thanks to a Rural Aid and Reece Foundation partnership.
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Tank recipient and Eugowra farmer Matt Parker is still recovering from the catastrophic November 2022 flood.
"We lost all our cereal crops... it was a huge expense and a huge loss of income.
"We lost quite a number of sheep in the floodwater. It just seemed to be one thing after another for a while there," he said.
Matt was one of ten central west New South Wales farmers to receive a new 22,000 litre tank for his household water use.
"It's much appreciated. It was something on our to-do list before the flood but financially we just haven't been able to do it," Matt said.
The tanks were installed by qualified plumbers volunteering with the Reece Foundation.
Plumber James Woolford donated his time, expertise, equipment, and employees to the project.
"It's come at a busy time of the year too, but it's just what you do," he said.
Plumber Mick Spencer visited Eugowra to support the community in the days immediately following the flooding events and returned recently for a second time to volunteer his skills.
"My passion for giving to a community is that if something happens in [my town], I would expect someone to come and give to our community, which is the way I look at it," he said.
The Reece Parkes branch has been a staunch supporter of Rural Aid for many years.
Branch manager Chris Cunningham connected Rural Aid with the Reece Foundation, and provided free materials for the project, after seeing his region still grappling with flood recovery.
"There were a lot of families, lot of people, affected," Chris said.
"The past 12 months have been a bit of a process."
Brian Morton, Rural Aid's Operations Manager, said it was great to be able to offer an installed tank to the region's farmers.
"We've worked in this region for a while now over the past 12 months, and [now] working with Reece, we've come back as part of the disaster-recovery process," he said.
The tanks will also help farmers as they prepare for, and recover from, drought.
Robert and Linda Ireland received a new tank, which has boosted their spirits as El Nino looms.
"Through that [2019] drought, and possibly coming up again this year, you go ages without rain and you run out of water," Linda said.
"The tank would just go down and down and down and you can't even be guaranteed to have a shower every day. You just forget how precious water is."
To register with Rural Aid, or to make a donation, visit: https://buyabale2023.ruralaid.org.au/
The Reece Foundation works with volunteer tradies and partners to fund and initiate projects that provide clean water and sanitation to communities at home and abroad.
To find out how you can get involved, visit: https://www.reecefoundation.charity/
