Waiou Family Trust member Richard Wright and lessee Andy Macklow have been planting and fencing natural springs at Hatuma, near Waipukurau.
Wright’s family started planting hundreds of trees on a retired area in 2011 and now a second spring was being retired, fenced and surrounded with 500 more natives.
A $4500 grant from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s landcare scheme covered half of the costs associated with protecting and restoring the wetland. It did not include the capital costs of installing the pump and reticulation, which had already been done.
The challenge was to ensure stock still had access to water.
“Getting electricity to the site was too expensive and petrol pumps can be very problematic so we were keen to find a cheaper, more reliable alternative,” Wright said.
As an architect with a passion for environmentally sustainable design, he investigated using a $1200 solar power to pump water to stock troughs.
His solution was a submersible pump capable of pumping 400 litres an hour and powered by two 100 watt solar panels.
Builders in the family built a frame and a local electrician supplied the gear and wired everything up.
The system pumped water about 20 metres uphill to a 25,000 litre concrete tank and water was gravity fed to two stock troughs on the farm.
“To service the tank and two stock troughs we don’t need a huge pump and because we have opted for a submersible pump it is self-priming.
“We also don’t need a lot of sun as the pump simply slows down on a dull day,” Wright said.
There was some investment in the tank, trough and trenching along with buying the pump and solar panels but there were no ongoing costs and the initial outlay was a lot less than trying to get grid power to the site. In all, the cost of materials and installation was about $13,500.
Regional council senior land management adviser Warwick Hesketh said solar technology had improved to the point solar pumping was a realistic and affordable option, especially where there was no access to electricity.
“The national policy statement for freshwater management means farmers do need to exclude stock from many natural water sources and solar water pumping will help them achieve that,” he said.
How much did it cost?
Solar pump $1200
Controller $326
Contactor and control box $262
Two solar panels $290 each
32mm pipe, 350m $826
278m cable $675
Pipe and electrical fittings $2000
Labour $1375
Total plumbing and electrical $7251
Solar frame $500
Trenching 270m $500
Concrete tank 25,000 litres $5000
One extra trough $224
