City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water have joined forces with Metro Trains Melbourne to install six new drinking fountains at some of the busiest train stations across Melbourne. The drinking fountains, located at Camberwell, Glenferrie, Sunshine, North Melbourne and two at Caulfield, aim to reduce the use of single-use plastics by increasing access to tap water in shared community spaces.

The new fountains are part of the Choose Tap initiative, which works to improve the health and wellbeing of the community and environment by promoting tap water as the most sustainable drink of choice. Having previously installed drinking fountains in parks and along high streets, this is the first time Choose Tap will install fountains at train stations in Melbourne, marking a new period of sustainable choice for commuters.

Yarra Valley Water Managing Director, Pat McCafferty said the new drinking fountains will be an easy way for Melburnians to change their water drinking habits while travelling by train and thereby reduce their single-use plastic footprint.

“We know that around half of bottled water purchases are driven by convenience, especially in public transport locations. This partnership with Metro is giving us the opportunity to start changing this, by giving people a way to easily choose tap and refill their water bottle instead of having to resort to purchasing bottled water.”  

“We have some of the best drinking water in the world and it will now be easier for people to access tap water on public transport, so it’s a no brainer.”

Metro CEO, Raymond O’Flaherty said the drinking fountains were an important part of the operator’s commitment to a more sustainable public transport network.

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“As our city recovers from COVID-19, and the public transport network gets busier, these drinking fountains will provide a healthy, sustainable water source for passengers on their commute.”

The fountains have been fitted with motion sensors to activate the water flow, allowing commuters to safely refill their bottle without needing to touch the fountain.

Metro continues to support COVIDSafe train travel, with enhanced cleaning of trains and stations across the network to keep people moving. Passengers using Metro stations are reminded to continue wearing face masks as per current health advice.

Water in Victoria is regularly tested and maintains a high standard of water quality. There is no evidence of COVID-19 transmission by water fountain/bubble tap metalware.

While public drinking water supplies are safe to drink, the public are encouraged to take precautions to minimise the risk of infection transmission when using drinking water fountains and bubblers.

This includes running the water for several seconds before drinking and avoiding placing your mouth directly on the fountain or bubbler. When filling up your water bottle at a drinking fountain, ensure the mouth of your drink bottle does not touch the fountain head or bubbler.

Choose Tap is a national coalition comprising of 19 water retailers and councils from across Australia, calling on people to ditch the plastic and make the switch to tap water.

For more information about Choose Tap and to find your nearest drinking fountain, please visit www.choosetap.com.au.

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