Rural Community Support Programme brings clean water back to families across regional Victoria and NSW
When bushfires tore through the Otway Ranges and other regional communities in the 2026 fire season, many families lost more than homes they lost access to safe drinking water. Through the Rotary Club of Sydney's Rural Community Support Programme, in partnership with the Reece Foundation and the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners, that's now changing.
The project began in Gellibrand and Carlisle River in the Otway Ranges, where volunteer plumbers recruited and briefed locally by the Reece Foundation started installing water tanks for households left without reliable water access. Families are identified through a dedicated process that prioritises those with the fewest resources to recover on their own.
With support from Sydney Rotary and the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners, the project is now extending its reach to communities in Walwa on the NSW border, and Harcourt, Dargo and Longwood across regional Victoria bringing safe water and sanitation to more households still rebuilding their lives.
This marks the third project Rotary Sydney has delivered alongside the Reece Foundation, reflecting a growing partnership built on shared commitment to disaster recovery and community resilience.
"Too often, communities do the hard work of recovery quietly, without recognition," said Club President Michael Chilcott, on behalf of the Rotary Club of Sydney. "This partnership is about more than funding it's about standing alongside communities as they rebuild and making sure that support is felt and seen."
Volunteer plumbers on the ground, working shoulder to shoulder with local families, are the heart of this project turning goodwill into safe water flowing from a tap.
Rotary Sydney will share further updates as the project extends across each new community.