Water bubblers back at Camden as council puts environment and health first

Camden Council has gone back to the future, installing drinking water bubblers in public places.

With an eye on both the environment and the health of residents, council has installed six water drinking stations and bubblers at popular recreational spaces across Camden.

Council and Sydney Water have worked together to provide the stations at some of the area’s most frequented recreation spaces.

“Making fresh drinking water available at recreation locations is one way we can support the health and wellbeing of residents and reduce waste generated by disposable bottles,” says Camden Mayor Lara Symkowiak.

“These stations will provide adults and children with a healthy alternative to sugary drinks.

“This is particularly important given the current high levels of overweight and obesity which can contribute to health problems such as Type 2 diabetes,” Cr Symkowiak said.

“The conveniently located water stations will allow residents to readily refill reusable water bottles or to drink from a bubbler,” she said.

The new water stations have been installed at:

• Onslow Oval, Camden

• John Peat Reserve, Camden

• Harrington Park Lake, Harrington Park

• Bicentennial Equestrian Park, Camden

• Mount Annan Leisure Centre, Mount Annan

• Birriwa Youth Space Mount Annan.

Camden Council is also purchasing an additional water refill station for Kirkham Park and a portable water refill station that will be available for community events.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Camden Council to provide their residents and our customers with high quality drinking water in convenient locations,” says Sydney Water engagement, education and partnerships manager Kylie Yeend.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“We have some of the best drinking water in the world.[/social_quote]

“It’s already filtered by Sydney Water, yet some people simply don’t know it, especially when they have a background from a country where the drinking water is not safe to drink,” Ms Yeed said.

“When people first arrive in Sydney there is nothing that tells them that you can drink water safely straight from the tap,” she said.

“The availability of the water stations will also help the family budgets of local residents by providing free water, rather than them purchasing bottled water.’’

The installation of the water stations has been funded by the NSW EPA “waste less recycle more’’ initiative.

SNAPSHOT – Bottled water

• It can take 250ml of oil and three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water

• A plastic water bottle takes about 1,000 years to break down

• Only 35 percent of plastic bottles are recycled, with the majority ending up in landfill

• When littered, plastic bottles often end up in the sea, killing marine life that mistakes it for food

• For every ton of plastic produced, three tons of carbon dioxide is released

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

• In 2014, Australians drank on average nearly one (0.88) sugar sweetened beverage a day

• Drinking one 600ml regular soft drink every day will see you consume 23kg of sugar in a year

• One 375ml can of soft drink per day could lead to a 6.5kg yearly weight gain

• There are 10 teaspoons of sugar in one 375ml can of regular soft drink

• In 2012, Australians bought 1.28 billion litres of sugar sweetened beverages

• In 2015, 52 percent of adults and 22 percent of children in NSW were overweight or obese

COST

• As of July 2016, 5 litres of Sydney tap water costs less than one cent

• Bottled water ranges from 1,500-2,000 times more expensive than tap