Coles Armidale donated 20,000 litres of water to the thirsty town of Guyra on Saturday morning - and hundreds of people came to get free bottles at the Showgrounds.
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"It was really pleasing to see that so many people came and took advantage of the donation," store support manager Lachlan Wirth said.
The crowds were more than Coles or their CWA partners anticipated, but made it a productive and fulfilling day, CWA member Leonie Hawkins said.
"I couldn't tell you how many people came in to get water - but there were a lot of them! I didn't expect as many people as we had; they just kept coming."
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A Coles truck brought 22 pallets containing 2000 x 10 litre bottles.
"We thought we'd be left with a lot of water," Ms Hawkins said.
Instead, only seven pallets remained; the public can pick up the bottles at Elders (173 Malpas Street) and Landmark (27 Boorolong Street).
"It just shows there's a need for drinking water," Ms Hawkins said. "A lot of people said to us they can't drink the water because it's full of smoke, or they're down to the bottom of their tank, and it's sludge."
Coles also served more than 500 sausages at their free barbecue.
Leftover food was sent to firefighters at the Ebor fire.
Council was closely involved in planning the event, including the logistics of the venue and unloading the water from delivery trucks.
Elected members and staff volunteered on the day, including mayor Simon Murray, CEO Susan Law, Cr Diane Gray, and council general business manager Scot MacDonald and his wife Aileen. They opened up the showgrounds, moved water palettes around, and helped to distribute the bottles.
"Council acknowledges that it's a difficult time for people at the moment," Ms Law said. "If it's not drought, people are fire-affected. Initiatives such as that of Coles and the CWA not only help people in a very practical way, but reassure the community that they're not out there on their own."
Coles will bring another truckload of water next month.
"We're looking to do more donations around the community, whether it be for Ebor or Dorrigo people who are really affected by the fires and the drought at the moment," Mr Wirth said. "So we're currently looking for places that we'll be able to help out close to Armidale."
"It's pretty hard to imagine how tough it is when you don't have drinking water," Ms Hawkins said.
Mr Wirth was pleased to provide such a service to the community.
"We understand that Coles has a lot of customers who travel from surrounding towns other than Armidale. So it was really pleasing to be able to give back to those communities, and particularly those affected most severely by the drought and wildfires."