Pieter and Libby Mourik, Wooragee Victoria 

THE PROBLEM

Pieter and Libby Mourik live in a maximum fire zone in Wooragee, Victoria. Their 100-acre property is situated right at the top of a hill, surrounded by eucalyptus bush, and they are completely dependent on ground water. 

During the 2019 drought, the springs started to dry up and their existing 110,000L water tank became half full. 

“Normally I can pump 20,000L from the spring in one day, but it took five days to fill it up,” reflects Pieter. 

“We’re going to have another drought here for sure, and I want to be ready for it. 

“I think the next 10 years are going to be very dry and terrible – mind you, we have just experienced the best winter we’ve ever had!” 

Pieter and Libby started considering extra water storage capacity for fire-fighting at the start of 2021. With an existing Pioneer 110,000L water tank on the property, and a lasting impression from their first experience dealing with authorised dealer Border Tanks, the pair turned to the local business for their water storage solution. 

THE SOLUTION 

The team from Border Tanks installed a GT250 (250,000L) water tank in Pale Eucalypt® on the Mourik’s property in May this year, specifically for fire protection purposes. 

“A fire can go through 100,000L of water within a couple of hours, so I wanted to be ready for anything,” says Pieter. 

“I have sprinkler systems connected to the tank and we’ve kept the whole house property green for a 50m radius. 

“We also have another 20,000L poly tank dedicated to fire-fighting; it has a 50m hose connected to a petrol fire pump and the other side is connected to a 200m-long steel sprinkler system along the fence line 50m downhill and northwest below the house. 

“If I turn that impact sprinkler system on, it’ll chew up 20,000L in an hour. The idea is I can cycle water from the 250,000L tank into the smaller tank so I can double-down on my capacity. 

“I’m being realistic – we will get a fire here one day. We’ve built a house that can withstand 1000 degrees; it’s air-tight, smoke-proof and ember proof with roof sprinklers – we haven’t left anything up to chance.” 

Thanks to the extremely wet winter the region has just had, the 250,000L Pioneer tank is completely full. Pieter and Libby feel much more fire-ready as summer approaches. 

“The team at Border Tanks were very efficient and provided high quality service,” says Pieter. 

“The cost was comparable to other tanks – in fact, I received quite a substantial discount because I bought one during a field day special. 

“The owner, Craig came out and installed the tank completely on his own. Unfortunately the guy who was supposed to help him wasn’t there, but Craig still managed to do it in one day. 

“I can’t recommend him enough – it was a huge effort on his own.”