Combatting Drought and Price Volatility

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There has never been a better time to install a water storage tank in New Zealand. 

The forecast for the summer of 2023/2024 is hot, long, and dry, in keeping with the often-brutal conditions the country has experienced in recent years. Catching the rain when it falls, or ‘rain harvesting’, and storing it for when it’s needed is a logical investment being made by more and more people in cities and rural areas. There is no longer a town and country divide when it comes to buying water storage tanks, and for several very good reasons. For example, council water charges don’t apply, and when local authorities impose water use restrictions (an annual inevitability, it would now seem), tank owners can access the water they have harvested to use for irrigation or other household activities that restrictions usually curtail.     

Rain harvesting has significant environmental advantages, too. The more water collected in privately owned tanks means less reliance on water treatment plants, fostering a more sustainable water supply for both urban and rural communities. However, sitting uncomfortably alongside all this positivity is a level of anxiety.  

This unease can be linked to three major issues affecting the tank industry: 

1. Lead time fear in the market, with tank delivery schedules tending to blow out across the industry every summer, primarily because of increased demand affecting production turnaround and output. 
2. There is a lot of price uncertainty due to tank raw materials continuing to rise in price and plenty of shifts in the current market. 
3. Talk of drought that emphasises the importance of storage tanks and sounds alarm bells. 

Can New Zealanders afford to wait for their tanks? In their 2022 company story, Together Making a Difference Today to Sustain Life Tomorrow, poly tank manufacturer Promax quoted some troubling data from Stats NZ. For example, the average annual rainfall for the five years to 2020 was 3.1% below the previous five-year average and 10.7% below the five-year average for 1996 to 2000. Seven of the nine North Island regions endured drought-like conditions in 2019 as they recorded the lowest precipitation over the 25 years to June 2020. Meanwhile, Northland, the home of Promax, recorded just 64% of the region’s average annual rainfall in the year to June 2019.  

With these numbers in mind, it’s clear that the prospect of lead time blowouts and paying more for storage solutions won’t ease the minds of Kiwis who want their tank delivered and installed as soon as possible. In a drought, every drop of rain is an invaluable resource, and the thought of missing out on a decent downpour reflects much of the uncertainty throughout the marketplace.  

Promax has moved to eradicate this doubt and bring certainty to the industry. The company has just launched the Promax Promise, a two-pronged pledge designed to provide peace of mind for their customers. First, it allows customers to lock in the delivery of their Promax tank. Second, the original price is set in concrete, regardless of rising material costs in a shifting market. That means no delays and no nasty surprises.   

Find out more about the Promax Promise