Drinking fountains with refill stations
Consultation outcomes
In April and May 2014, the Canberra community was invited to participate in a survey to help
determine the location of 20 public drinking fountains with water refill stations. The survey was
undertaken via the ACT Government’s Time to Talk website and through hard copy surveys at
public libraries. While the primary purpose of the survey was to seek feedback on the preferred
location of 20 drinking fountains, the consultation also provided an opportunity to gain insight
into attitudes towards public drinking fountains.
During the six week consultation period 602 surveys were completed. Overall responses were
very positive and supportive of the project.
The 20 drinking fountain locations informed by the community consultation are as follows:

Events Terrace (Discovery Garden), National Arboretum Canberra

Mount Ainslie lookout

City Walk, Garema Place, City

City Walk, City

Black Mountain lookout

City Bus Station, Alinga Street, City

City Bus Station, Mort Street, City

Woden Town Square, Woden Town Centre

Weston Park, Yarralumla

Bunda Street, City

Ainslie Avenue, City

Tuggeranong Town Park, Tuggeranong

Acton Park, Acton

Eastern Valley Way Wetlands, Lake Ginninderra

Weston Creek Shopping Centre playground

Jamison Plaza, Macquarie

Hibberson Ave, Gungahlin Town Centre

Erindale Shopping Centre, Wanniassa

Mawson Shopping Centre, Mawson

Eddison Park, Phillip.
The locations of the drinking fountains are quite evenly spread across Canberra with eight to be
installed in the south of Canberra, six in the City and six in the north of Canberra.
Over 80% of survey respondents stated that having more public drinking fountains with a refill
tap would encourage them to carry a reusable water bottle and, in turn, reduce plastic bottle
waste caused by purchased drinks.
In addition to the 20 drinking fountains which will be installed in high pedestrian areas informed
by this community consultation, 10 drinking fountains will also be installed at pre-selected
sportsgrounds across the ACT as follows:

Harrison District Playing Fields

Dickson District Playing Fields

Deakin District Playing Fields

Downer Neighbourhood Oval

Aranda District Playing Fields

Kambah District Playing Fields

Mawson District Playing Fields

Calwell District Playing Fields

Rivett Neighbourhood Oval

Majura District Playing Fields
Reasons people use drinking fountains and drink tap water




The convenience (81.06%)
To reduce plastic bottle waste (72.59%)
The low cost (67.94%)
Healthy alternative to sugary drinks (63.46%)
Over 80% of survey respondents choose to drink tap water and use drinking fountains because
of the convenience. The survey results also show there is a high level of public awareness
regarding the negative environmental impact of disposable plastic bottles and the negative
health impact of consuming sugary drinks.
Public use of reusable water bottles




Every day (35.05%)
4-6 days a week (27.08%)
1-3 days a week (20.60%)
Only when I exercise (7.97%)
Over half of the survey respondents carry and use a refillable bottle more than four times a
week, which is a great result and will only increase further once the drinking fountains with refill
stations are installed. Knowing that there will be more opportunities for the community to refill
their water bottles when out in public will encourage more users of the water refill stations.
Reasons why people do not carry or use a refillable bottle



Forgetting to take a bottle (55.06%)
It’s too bulky to carry a bottle (44.30%)
I don’t know where to refill my bottle (35.76%)
Having 30 drinking fountains installed across Canberra will provide a good incentive for people
to carry a water bottle with them. Eye catching artwork will be applied to the drinking fountains
to make them visually appealing and to promote the benefits of tap water which may encourage
more people to carry a water bottle. Each new water fountain will have two bottle refill nozzles
set at different heights to accommodate adults, children and wheelchair users and make it easy
to refill bottles. The locations of each drinking fountain will also be listed on the Mobile
Canberra app which is available to download for free from Google Play and iTunes. Mobile
Canberra will allow the public to locate the nearest drinking fountain and is available on iPhone,
Android and tablet devices.
Key issues
The following recurring issues were raised when survey respondents were asked to provide
further comments about drinking fountains.
Cleanliness and maintenance of the water stations
“A great idea – but need regular maintenance and cleaning – perhaps a plate on them
providing a contact number should a fountain be malfunctioning.”
“If the fountains were designed so people can't make them dirty - I am often put off by
public fountains because people seem to deliberately dirty them.”
A number of respondents were concerned about the cleanliness and maintenance of the water
refill stations. Many would not drink from a water station if they were dirty or damaged. The
drinking fountain unit selected has features to improve cleaning and maintenance. These
features include anti-bacterial refill nozzles, blade type design to avoid water pooling and robust
and vandal-deterrent fittings. Many in the community were unsure how to report damaged or
non-operational drinking fountains. In response to this comment, the Canberra Connect contact
details (13 22 81) will be incorporated onto the artwork panels of the units to allow the public to
report any damage/cleaning issues immediately.
Vandalism
“I think it's a great initiative. However, the fountains need to be maintained properly,
kept clean and designed to prevent vandalism.”
“My only concern is of course vandalism. What measures will be put into place to try to
stop them being vandalised?”
The drinking fountains will be located in high pedestrian areas with lots of passive surveillance.
The new water refill stations feature a modular design which allows parts and panels to be
replaced at a smaller cost than if the whole unit was required to be replaced. To enable any
damaged or vandalised units to be promptly repaired the Canberra Connect contact details will
be included in the artwork design of the unit panels.
Inclusion of a dog bowl
“At popular walking routes a tap/bowl at the bottom of station would mean that dogs
can also have a drink.”
“I would love to see more refill stations for dogs.”
While the current units don’t specifically feature a dog bowl, people will be able to refill their
bottles to provide their dogs with a drink of water and dog bowls may be installed in the future
at an additional cost.
Environmental impact
“A great initiative – anything which will reduce the commercialisation of a healthy,
natural resource, and litter created by plastic bottles is worth supporting.”
“Water refill stations are essential to reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles.”
“I believe this is a brilliant initiative to encourage a higher consumption of water,
without cost or additional landfill.”
Most comments received throughout the survey were positive and supported of the drinking
fountains. Many respondents congratulated the ACT Government on the initiative to install
drinking fountains with refill stations and suggested that if the roll out is successful they would
like to see more stations installed.
Satisfaction with consultation
Survey respondents expressed a high level of satisfaction with the consultation with 92.52% of
respondents either very satisfied or satisfied with the consultation, 6.31% of respondents
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 1.16% or respondents dissatisfied.
Instillation timeline
The 30 drinking fountains will be installed from June 2014 to June 2015 starting with installation
of the drinking fountains at the pre-selected sportsground locations, followed by the 20
locations informed by the community consultation.
Further information
For further information visit www.tams.act.gov.au or call Canberra Connect on 13 22 81.