Fresh fountains up for grabs in plastic bottle battle

Have you been out with the family or walking the dog, with nowhere to fill your water bottle? Yearned for a quick sip to quench your thirst with no drinking fountain in sight?

Together with local councils, SA Water is helping solve this problem as it plans the next roll-out of smart drinking water fountains across the state and is calling for your ideas on where they should be installed.

SA Water’s General Manager of Customer and Commercial Anna Jackson said it’s important the fountains go to public spaces that could benefit from better access to an environmentally friendly alternative.

“Our fountain program is part of an initiative to make safe, clean tap water more accessible in the community and reduce the single-use plastic bottle as much as possible,” Anna said.

“Tap water is better for your health, your hip pocket and our planet, and with greater access to it, we can avoid the need to buy and dispose of single-use plastics.

“I encourage people to get in touch with their council with a suggestion for a fountain location that typically experiences high foot traffic – whether that be your neighbourhood park, community hub or sporting club.

“We’ll then assess the proposals made by councils and work together with successful applicants to share the new locations with the community.

“Over the next few weeks, we’re also wrapping up delivery of 25 new drinking fountains at places like the Adelaide Botanic Garden, Belair’s Monalta Reserve, Port Augusta’s ETSA Oval and the Port Elliot Dog Park.”

These new fountains will join SA Water’s existing network of more than 60 already in the ground across South Australia, including at the iconic Adelaide Oval and Adelaide Showground.

Ms Jackson said the existing fleet of fountains recently chalked up an impressive milestone – proving their worth in the war on waste.

“Our suite of fountains have been used more than a million times by the community, delivering 450,000 litres of safe, clean drinking water to keep 760,000 single-use plastic bottles out of landfill and inspire sustainable behaviour,” Anna said.

“We want to be proactive environmental leaders and drive change in the fight against single-use plastics by providing the infrastructure that enables people to build a healthy habit.”

Designed and manufactured in Australia, a low-lying drinking arm bubbler on the side ensures each fountain is child and wheelchair accessible, with contemporary hygiene features such as its ‘water window’ allowing for easy, safe filling of water bottles.

New drinking fountains are currently being installed at the following locations:

• Adelaide Botanic Garden
• Camden Oval, Novar Gardens
• ETSA Oval, Port Augusta
• Glenthorne National Park
• Happy Valley Reservoir Reserve
• Inclusive Playground, Tanunda
• Jenny Matthews Playground, Robe
• King William Road, Unley
• Levi Reserve, Vale Park
• Lobethal Bushland Park
• Monalta Reserve, Belair
• Monarto Zoo
• Musgrave Street, Lucindale
• Port Elliot Dog Park
• Sam Willoughby International BMX Facility
• Summit Recreation Park
• The Gums Reserve, Tranmere

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