Australian Water Management Review Vol. 1 2014 | Page 57

aquafil Water Bottle Refill
Stations helping local communities
reduce their ecological footprint
Lake Wendouree
Central Highlands Water and the City of Ballarat have
come together as a community partnership and created
the Wendouree Drinking Fountain project. The project
is the result of listening to the local community who
expressed a need for more water stations at Lake
Wendouree, a popular recreational area.
The first of the new aquafil™ Water Refill Stations
was installed and opened in September 2013. City
of Ballarat Mayor Cr John Burt OAM and Mr Jeremy
Johnson, Chair of Central Highlands Water, officially
opened the new drinking fountain at St Patricks Point.
The commencement of the project will see the number
of water refill stations increase from five to nine.
The aquafil Water Stations feature bottle refill dispensers,
dog drinking bowls and wheelchair accessible bubblers and
will be placed at intervals along the Steve Moneghetti track.
Shellharbour City Council
In 2013 Shellharbour City Council purchased a
number of aquafil portable water bottle refill stations
to use at major community events with the aim

of supporting the local community in practicing
sustainable living and reducing waste to landfill and
stormwater pollution.
In 2012 Council installed a permanent aquafil™ water
refill station and drinking fountain at a popular picnic area
at Reddall Reserve on the foreshore of Lake Illawarra.
Both initiatives encourage the consumption of tap
water, which has a much smaller ecological footprint
than bottled water. These initiatives also encourage
people to bring their own drink bottles and embrace
the ‘refuse, reuse’ philosophy rather than the ‘throw
away’ mentality. By filling up reusable water bottles,
Council and the community are reducing the amount
of plastic waste that ultimately ends up in landfill,
water ways and oceans.
Yarra Valley Water
Yarra Valley Water’s ‘Choose Tap’ program engages
the community on drinking tap water as an important
element of a healthy lifestyle and as a much cheaper
and environmentally friendly alternative to expensive
bottled water.

The findings of a customer survey showed that the
public would happily drink tap water if it was more
readily available in public spaces. This launched the
‘Choose Tap’ initiative, a program all about choice –
the choice to easily use and access free, good quality
drinking water and the choice to live a healthy and
sustainable lifestyle.
Yarra Valley Water set about researching a number
of products that would fill the brief to conveniently
supply quality drinking water to the public while
promoting the smart choice message – and chose
the aquafil product range which offered options such
as filtered and non-filtered water, usage meters, dog
bowls and wheel chair accessibility.
Yarra Valley Water has since worked with local
councils to install 25 aquafil units that can be found
at recreational spaces, shopping precincts, hospitals,
universities and TAFES, providing the community
with a free, convenient and environmentally friendly
way to stay healthy and hydrated.

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