Water Fountains And Bottle Filling Points Bring Relief To Sussex Residents... And Their Pooches!

Thursday, 4 August 2022 06:00

By Dominic Kureen @WriteOnDom

New drinking water fountains and bottle filling points are keeping Sussex residents and visitors cool during the sunny summer season.

Dog owners have enjoyed giving their pets a well-earned drink during their daily walks.

Earlier this year, the council worked with Southern Water to install five water filler units in busy parts of the city centre, including travel hubs and exercise routes, in a bid to provide fresh, clean drinking water cut down on plastic bottle use and reduce litter.

The filing stations are at:

Hove Town Hall
Brighton Station
Hove Lagoon
Hove Lawns
Churchill Square

As a nation, we use more than seven billion plastic water bottles a year creating a mountain of plastic waste.

Plastic production and burning plastic that’s been thrown away, pumps greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Plastic bottles also end up in our countryside and sea, choking wildlife and taking hundreds of years to break down.

Providing free drinking water refill stations in busy areas of the city, is reducing the need to buy plastic bottles.

The units also include water fountains so there’s no need to use a bottle if you’re on the go.

Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty, said:

“It’s great we are able to make fresh, free, clean drinking water readily available.

“The fountains, located in the city centre and on the seafront, are incredibly handy for residents and visitors alike.

“The pandemic sadly saw a huge rise in the use of singe use plastics, but I’m pleased that these fountains are helping all of us redouble our efforts to reduce and prevent waste."

The water fillers are safe to use with health risks minimised through regular cleaning and maintenance.

This includes:

Daily cleaning and sterilising
Regular water testing
Twice yearly inspection, internal sterilisation and maintenance
Daily reporting of damage
Locating the units in shady areas, away from potential contamination such as overhanging trees.

The fillers also operate with a hands-free, push activation system, which allows bottles to be filled by pressing down onto a platform to avoid the bottleneck touching the fill spout.