Iwi-led water programme is changing lives
Discoloured bad tasting water will be a thing of the past for Far North residents
An iwi-led drought relief programme is changing lives in the Far North, one water tank at a time. On Wednesday, it was Atholene Ngauma’s turn to get a rainwater tank installed at her home in Waipapakauri, north of Kaitāia.
Until now the great-grandmother had to make do with water that was discoloured, tasted bad, and was unsafe to drink.
“My water’s from a bore and everything is yellow. The toilet is yellow, the shower is yellow, the washing — the whites — are yellow.”
Ngauma (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa) had to buy bottled water for drinking and cooking, and even for bathing one of her mokopuna.
She suffered from a number of health conditions and worried the bore water she relied on could make them worse.
Having reliable, drinkable water in her home would be life-changing, she said.
“It’ll mean heaps, because apart from being able to drink the water, and have clean washing, I’ve got four grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren. The kids always come and go, and we’re buying in water all the time.”
The water tank was installed by Puna Wai Ora, also known as Te Hiku Drought Relief Programme.
The scheme is led by Te Aupōuri Development Trust, and was funded by an $8 million grant from the National Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the 2020 drought.
The drought — one of the worst in Northland’s history — exposed the precarious living conditions of many Far North whānau, especially those who didn’t have access to town water supplies.
Various Far North plumbers have been installing rainwater tanks for Puna Wai Ora, but late last year Te Aupōuri Development Trust set up its own plumbing venture.
Tupu Plumbing doubles as a training scheme, taking on half a dozen youth at a time, most of whom had been unemployed for a year or more.
The idea is to give them skills and help them into apprenticeships and eventually trade careers.
Tupu Plumbing site supervisor Rob Purchase (Tuwharetoa) said the young men had learned fast.
“It had its challenges initially. They didn’t have any experience in the kind of work we’re doing but they’ve picked it up very quickly,” Purchase said.
“Within a month we got a good rhythm in place, and now they’re pretty good. They’re doing most of the work without supervision.
“We hope this is going to be the first step in the career that keeps them employed for life. If they’re able to get from here into an apprenticeship and then to be a tradesman, they shouldn’t be unemployed again for the rest of their lives.”
Purchase said the programme was also life-changing for families who received water tanks.
“It’s huge. You see it on the faces of the whānau when we’re in there and doing these jobs. When we leave at the end of the day they’ve got 12,000 litres of water to start them off, so they’ve got running water at the tap that’s clean.”
An elderly couple in the remote Peria Valley, for example, had only a 1000-litre drum for collecting rainwater.
“So if it didn’t rain for a couple of weeks they had to travel 45 minutes into town to get water. The day we were there we put in a 25,000-litre tank and they were running the tap, washing the dishes, flushing the toilet