A new rainwater tank at the Goulburn Recreation Area will act as an additional resource in times of drought, fire and floods.
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The tank will hold 110,000 litres of water and help catch rainwater that currently floods the covered cattle yard area during heavy rain.
Goulburn AP&H Society president Jacki Waugh said the extra water would make a big difference to livestock or in the case of another drought.
"I tried a few times to get a grant for [the tank] and was unsuccessful, but I finally got one," she said.
"It's very exciting, we're very happy."
The tank was funded by a $25,000 grant as part of the Strengthening Rural Communities program run by the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR).
In total, 130 projects were funded through more than $1.6million worth of grants divided into three streams including funding to support COVID-19 recovery, small and vital, and 2019/20 Black Summer bushfire recovery.
The rainwater tank was funded through the bushfire recovery stream.
Jill Karena, Place Portfolio Lead at FRRR, said when it came to the bushfire recovery stream, many of the applications were focused on reducing the burden on volunteers.
"In previous rounds we've seen more of a focus on infrastructure," she said.
"This aligns with the findings of our Heartbeat of Rural Australia survey, which showed that volunteers in rural Australia are feeling more fatigued than ever.
"There was also a strong trend toward greater community connection, with projects to help bring the community together to share their experiences and support one another in their ongoing recovery."
The Goulburn Recreation Area was used as a general and animal evacuation centre for those threatened by the bushfires in the district during the summer of 2020. It has also been used as an evacuation centre during flooding.
Ms Waugh said the water could be used by residents who needed to evacuate or re-locate livestock in an emergency and hoped to have it installed before summer arrived.
"The sooner we get it the better," she said.
With Goulburn experiencing high levels of rainfall, Ms Waugh said the La Nina summer could be a good time to collect "free water" and prepare for future droughts.
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