Charlotte Varcoe
INSTALLED less than a year ago, the Blue Lake smart drinking fountain has reached a significant milestone.
Supplying fresh water for outdoor enthusiasts, the fountain – one of many installed across Mount Gambier – has exceeded 10,000 sips and refills for locals and visitors to the popular tourist attraction.
First placed at the Blue Lake in August of last year the SA Water initiative to make tap water more accessible in the community has now provided 4300 litres of water to people walking past.
SA Water senior management of media Joshua Zugajev said the drinking fountain was a smart drinking fountain which tracks the number of uses by the number of times the button had been pressed.
The fountain also tracks the volume of water used.
Mr Zugajev said the use of the fountain was a fantastic outcome for the initiative with the particular location chosen due to it having high foot traffic.
“It is hard for us to predict how popular a drinking fountain will be but we knew this was a well used area which would allow for it to gain maximum use,” Mr Zugajev said.
“It was all about us putting the fountains in locations where they will provide the best services to the community.”
He said the fountains also provided environmental benefits by allowing someone who accesses the fountains to either refill their water bottles.
“A single use plastic water bottle needs up to 250ml of crude oil and three litres of water to be made,” Mr Zugajev said.
“Having this fountain available is a really substantial benefit to us all acting on ways to make small habits to switch out single use plastic for a more sustainable option.”
Pleased with the initial response, he said it showed the community had embraced the fountains and the project was a good decision.
“The fountains encourage everyone to think about how they can benefit from using more sustainable options for drinking water and putting aside single use water bottles,” Mr Zugajev said.
“There are also health benefits for it as well as hip-pocket benefits.”
Mount Gambier residents and regular Blue Lake walkers Zena Appleby and Michelle Hommelhoff said the water fountain was a fantastic addition to the walking trail and they had seen a large number of people using it, especially in the summer.
“It is a good idea for those who forgot their water bottles and good for dogs especially on hot days,” Ms Appleby said.
“Having free water in the summer time while you are walking is fantastic and having it used so much shows the importance it has.
“We walk the lake every day and see tourists, walkers and even people in their caravans use it a lot.”
The fountain is one of 70 installed across the state with a number being around Mount Gambier.
