Clean water storage reaches new heights

At 40,00 hectares, Mt White Station is a long way across and a long way up. First settled in 1873, this classic highcountry station runs sheep, cattle and deer. In the Upper Waimakariri Basin near Arthur’s Pass, the station is as isolated as it is iconic.

From the front gate down on the Riversdale Flats right up to the Puketeraki and Dampier ranges in the Upper Waimakariri catchment, there’s a lot to Mt White – and much of it is as remote as you can get. If you wanted to get away from everything, this is where you’d do it. Of course, being a long way from anywhere does not make you immune to the nation’s lawmakers in Wellington. For example, with the introduction of new clean waterways regulations, the owners of Mt White needed a more dependable and hygienic supply of water to gravity feed to their stock troughs. Stock health was a high priority for the owners, as was the requirement to comply with those more stringent waterways laws, but all those hectares, all those hills and all that height presented a steep challenge. To achieve their lofty objectives, new water tanks were required on Mt White Station. But on a Canterbury high-country farm covering tens of thousands of hectares, many of them vertical, that is easier said than done. A lot of tanks had to be installed over a vast area and most of those sites were up in the hill country that makes Mt White one of the most imposing stations in New Zealand, if not the world. Transporting and setting up heavy concrete tanks in such a rugged and mountainous place was expensive and not practical. A lightweight solution was required. Mt White’s owners reached out to Promax, a tank manufacturing company with factories in Kerikeri and Rangiora. Promax had won acclaim for their XPRESS water tanks made from highgrade polyethylene plastic. Compared with conventional concrete tanks, XPRESS water tanks were a much lighter option, making transportation to Mt White Station a far more affordable and viable exercise. The one-piece construction also reduced costs and maintenance, which was an important consideration as getting to a tank needing a repair or replacement was hardly a walk in the park. Promax worked with their suppliers at Farmlands and Boyes Contracting in Darfield to supply and install 15 30,000 litre tanks at Mt White Station. As a result, this remote station can better look after their stock with cleaner drinking water while complying with those allimportant waterways regulations. In every way possible, they have taken their water storage to new heights.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Promax

| Mt White Station needed a more dependable and hygienic supply of water to gravity feed to its stock troughs.

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