Besides the fences and cattle that are damaged or lost in a flood of this magnitude other infrastructure can be affected as well. In this case, 5 x 22,000-litre water tanks, the pump and a solar array that powers it.
Working with the farmer it was possible for us to re-wire the solar and get the pump going again. The five tanks had previously been found and relocated but not yet plumbed back into the system. The distance between the pump and the last tank is several kms and it's possible to clock up a few clicks driving around this 50,000-acre property, back and forth, as we've done in the last couple of days. Conventional 4x4 cars and utes can't handle this sort of terrain so we've been using single seater 4 wheel motorbikes and the larger 3 seater gator for transport.
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| The solar array. |
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| The submersible pump. |
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| Plumbing a tank. |
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| Popping the tank lid back up again. |
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| Draw straws. Someone has to adjust the float valve. |
