Jon Taylor, founder of WaterSaver, first learned this when working as an electrician in Raglan, meeting several tank owners who had lost their water due to accidents.
In one case, a digger had run over the main water pipe of a permaculture gardener, but more commonly he found taps were inadvertently left on, or water pipes had burst.
WaterSaver discovered that at least 45% of water tank owners had lost their water accidentally.
Taylor says in all cases the accidents led to the pressure pump continuing to run unchecked, often until the water tank was emptied.
“Often, equipment needed to be fixed or replaced and emergency water had to be trucked in. One can imagine the disruption and inconvenience these accidents caused, not to mention the financial cost.”
Taylor says when he found there was no off-the-shelf solution for the problem, he set about building one, focusing on cutting power to the pump in the event of an accident. His prototype, then called Jet Stop, evolved to become WaterSaver.
Taylor entered the original prototype in the 2015 Fieldays technology section and was a finalist at the Innovation Awards, where he received glowing praise from the judges.
As a reward for his making the finals, he was invited to join SODA Inc.’s incubation program, qualifying for funding and mentoring from then business growth adviser John Cunningham. At the end of 2016, Taylor asked for help and cash from Nelson Angels investors and a business was formed. The firm’s first production run is scheduled for this month.
