Pledge to help farmers
PAUL Masson knows what it’s like when the rain stops falling and the water tanks run dry.
He has seen the highs and lows of rural life on his property just off the Warrego Highway at Yuleba, which has been declared droughtstricken since mid-2013.
But Mr Masson and his wife Beryl have been thrown a lifeline, as dishwashing company Finish partnered with Rural Aid to deliver much-needed water to their property.
The #finishwaterwaste initiative aims to deliver one million litres of water to 50 Australian farmers across the country.
By working with local water carting services, the water is sourced from the community and transported to the farmers at no cost to them.
Mr Masson’s supply was delivered by Roma Transport Services.
Every person on social media who promises to reduce water waste and uses the hashtag #finishwaterwaste will lead to a 40L donation of water to a farmer.
Mr Masson said it was fantastic how the partnership could deliver water to people in need.
“There’s a lot of people still going through drought and you never know when that next lot of rain’s going to come, so any water we can organise … makes it much easier to sleep at night,” he said.
“All our dams have run dry and we’ve run out of tank water a couple of times.
“The rain seems to come as far as Roma, and stop, and start again at Miles.”
He’s looking forward to potential rain from the La Nina event, which could lead to increased rainfall in eastern Australia.
“As long as the floods aren’t too nasty,” he said.
“The people in the country, they grit their teeth and keep going.”
He urged anyone who needed help with water to contact Rural Aid.
Rural Aid CEO John Warlters was at the farm to witness the first of the water trucks arrive at Mr Masson’s property.
“It’s National Water Week, so it’s been timed around National Water Week,” he said.
“We’re aiming to deliver a million litres of water to roughly 50 producers.”