By Matthew Boyle
Across the country water tank manufacturers are seeing a noticeable increase in demand for water tanks, and are urging those wanting to order one to do it now.
This increase in demand coincides with concern Federated Farmers has with the Water Services Bill, which recently went back to Parliament for its second reading and is due to be law soon. The new regulation will have a big impact on drinking water suppliers, especially small suppliers like farmers.
One of the likely consequences of the impact of the new drinking water supply law will be that farmers will opt out of their existing arrangements to be drinking water suppliers to other near-by properties.
This is likely to trigger interest in large water tanks, assuming more people will want to become self-sufficient from farmers who no longer supply them with drinking water.
Devan Water Tanks, Big Water Tanks Limited and Bailey Tanks, three of New Zealand’s biggest water tank manufacturers, have all seen a noticeable increase in demand for their tanks over the past 12-18 months.
Jeff Haefele, business development manager of Devan Water Tanks in Tauranga, says most of their inquiries and orders are coming from rural New Zealand.
“People should ideally be putting orders in as soon as possible because of the wait period. All manufacturers currently have high demand across the country,” Jeff said.
Vincent Frandsen, the owner of Big Water Tanks Limited in Auckland, had also noticed an increase in demand from rural areas. The majority were coming from Northland which he attributed to the droughts and water shortages the region experiences.
“Prices in raw material and shipping have gone up, and it’s been harder to bring in those raw materials from around the globe due to the pandemic,” he said.
Bailey Tanks chief executive David Bailey said increased extreme weather patterns are making customers think about water tanks.
“What we are seeing are more extreme weather patterns, dry summers and wet winters. Rural people need to store more water and collect that water for the summer period,” he said.
The increased demand on production has also resulted in an average wait period of up to 8-10 weeks to get a water tank.
“We have had up to a 10 week wait continuously over the past 12 months,” David said.
David and the other manufacturers are also experiencing significant hold ups due to the pandemic.
The longer than usual delays, increased demand, and coming dry months have all manufacturers advising those who wish to order a tank, especially those in rural areas, to get in as soon as possible.