April 15, 2024
Te Hiku water tank plan path to resiliance
The Far North’s $8 million Te Hiku Drought Relief project – Puna Wai Ora – is more than halfway through its target of providing 500 whānau with water tanks.
Tipene Kapa-Kingi from Te Aupouri says the project to give tanks to whānau reliant on rain or river water was kicked off in 2020 after the worst drought in Te Hiku history.
He says Te Aupouri’s own Tupu Plumbing has installed 50 of the 300 tanks fitted so far, and it’s taken on a half a dozen long-term unemployed youth for the task.
“There’s the opportunity for a group of our rangatahi to help deliver not only a part of the 500 tanks, but also to gain some useful skills in the process – to apply to the construction industry, once the program is finished,” Mr Kapa-Kingi says.