please empty your brain below
|
Small. But it's a start. The effects can also be coupled with other initiatives like Network Rail rolling out their "Hydration Stations". I am sure there are others but you can fill up your bottle at Euston as well. (And if going to Manchester, when you get off at Piccadilly too.)
But yeah, long way to go.
Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 7:27 a.m. | #
|
|
Probably nothing to do with the Mayor’s initiative but I visited Lyle Park (following DG’s recent post) at the weekend for a look round and noticed that there’s a drinking water fountain there.
Hadders | 29.08.18 - 7:35 a.m. | #
|
You could have used the Refill app to find the fountain. Except that that doesn’t seem to include it, which is a shame.
Attitudes do seem to be changing though. Every cafe I’ve been to has refilled my water bottle for free with no complaints. I also see more and more people using their own coffee cups for takeaway coffee.
Frankie Roberto | 29.08.18 - 7:47 a.m. | #
|
|
Of course, making the vast number of non-functioning Victorian and Edwardian drinking fountains work again was out of the question. Sigh.
David | 29.08.18 - 7:59 a.m. | #
|
|
Having been on the other side of press releases, I suspect it was written by the PR people DG loves so much and only ascribed to Dr. Koldeway. If Dr. Koldeway was lucky, they may have asked her if they could put her name to it - but I wouldn't bet on it.
Jon Jones | 29.08.18 - 8:02 a.m. | #
|
|
"new public water fountains are flooding the capital" - very droll !
Peter | 29.08.18 - 8:05 a.m. | #
|
The Refill app is also lauded in the press release.
The Mayor is encouraging businesses, shops and venues to join Refill London and offer free tap water to the public. To join the scheme visit the Refill websitewww.refill.org.uk.
A 'secret' list you can only see if you have a smartphone, and the right app, and have logged in to create an account, is never going to solve London's drinking water problem.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 8:06 a.m. | #
|
'flooding the capital'
The ongoing sloppiness with press releases is a concern, as it reflects on the competence of the rest of the organisation, there is cross contamination, for example '#OneLess' is an accepted format that never existed until recently, but later we get 'ZSL'sOneLess', perhaps in the not too distant future press releases will just consist of emojis and text slang.
Still Anon | 29.08.18 - 8:19 a.m. | #
|
DG, I think you have taken an overly negative slant on this initiative with some inconsistencies in your approach. You’ve gone to seek out the fountain that you think is possibly the least used and found a queue to use it! Whilst it took you 30 mins to find it - clearly the locals who are going to use it more regularly knew where it was.
Yes it does seem to be hyped up a bit - but it is a start and hopefully if it is a success it will be rolled out to more boroughs.
Brian | 29.08.18 - 8:32 a.m. | #
|
|
I remember when I was young a drinking fountain in Wanstead Flats, at the end of Davies Lane, had a metal cup attached to a chain and the horse trough at Green Man had a fountain.
John | 29.08.18 - 8:32 a.m. | #
|
This is a welcome move. Examples from abroad can be leveraged.
NYC (not counting the public fountains in public transport, museums, libraries , private businesses). Between 2015 and 2025, 500 water fountains and water bottle refilling stations will be installed and/or repaired across all five boroughs to encourage proper hydration and water bottle refilling.
Zurich. There is always a supply of fresh, top-quality drinking water in Zurich – thanks to more than 1,200 fountains that can be found every few meters all over the city. Thus Zurich is one of the cities with the largest number of fountains in the world
French reader | 29.08.18 - 8:54 a.m. | #
|
Funny how there appear to be competing schemes to do this. I spotted a rival at Hammersmith bus station the other day...
http://www.hydrachill.com/news/hammersmith-becomes-uks-first-station-to-offer-free-drinking-water-system-for-commuters/
This one is "supported by Thames Water and Transport for London and sanctioned by the Mayor Of London."
ap | 29.08.18 - 9:03 a.m. | #
|
This got me reminiscing about the drinking fountains of old in London parks. I remember the big stone things with a step for small children and an integrated dog trough! Mind you tryin to get water out of them was a bit of a challenge - leaning heavily on the brass button for just a dribble of water.
Had a good old browse at this site.
dg writes: That site includes the ornate Victorian fountain in Valentines Park, here.
Mike | 29.08.18 - 9:10 a.m. | #
|
Might it be possible for one of the brains behind such schemes to devise a water fountain equally suitable for either refilling bottles or direct drinking?
Sadly, if it is your job to write press releases, then it will not last long if you say to management "this initiative is too insignificant to be worth praising". You just have to write it anyway.
Malcolm | 29.08.18 - 9:12 a.m. | #
|
|
Small steps DG, they should be celebrated
louise | 29.08.18 - 9:27 a.m. | #
|
|
There's a few new-ish fountains in Victoria Park. The one by the lake has been there for at least 5 years, but I've seen & used some of the others on the path around the park. I think they are more recent. Or I'm just unobservant.
David @dtl | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 9:36 a.m. | #
|
|
I wonder what the total number of drinking fountains in London is, including existing ones. We seem to have 26 here in Luxembourg City, which has a population of less than 100k.
| 29.08.18 - 10:06 a.m. | #
|
|
The patchiness of the mayor's scheme may be because of local initiatives. Kingston Borough Council is installing its own water fountains, so it will not be necessary for the local inhabitants to trek over to Acton Park to replenish their water bottles.
timbo again | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 10:24 a.m. | #
|
"Dr Heather Koldewey,#OneLess campaign Director and Head of Marine and Freshwater Conservation at ZSL said:“We were taken aback by the number of applications we received to install drinking fountains across London."
The high number Dr, or the low number?
Water under the bridge in my book. Press releases these days are frequently a collection of meaningless words lumped together in to an equally meaningless sentence.
scrumpy | 29.08.18 - 10:24 a.m. | #
|
That's a gorgeous old fountain in Valentines Park. It's a pity it hasn't been brought back into use but perhaps that's due to it being in the middle of a road.
dg writes: It's not in the middle of a road used by traffic. It's in a park.
milliem | 29.08.18 - 12:15 p.m. | #
|
Poor local journalism:
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/16603692.free-water-refill-point-planned-for-valentines-park
Alice, the "Local Democracy Reporter" for Waltham Forest and Redbridge, hasn't spotted that the water refill point in Valentines Park is already open.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 1:25 p.m. | #
|
Given the 'success' of the plastic bag tax I wonder why Mr Khan doesn't consider introducing a levy on all water sold in plastic bottles in London. That way he could finance his free fountains far faster.
Whilst we're at it - how about a national levy?
As I can remember a world without people constantly walking around hydrating themselves all over the place I am not convinced that bottled water is necessary at all. Just ban the stuff - it's an eco disaster story.
drD | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 1:39 p.m. | #
|
|
Whats amazing is theres nothing in The QEOP or Westfield Stratford City which are as busy as Oxford Street. I think they MIGHT have drinking fountains but I have never found them!
Drew | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 6:47 p.m. | #
|
@drD
The government is already drawing up a consultation on a bottle levy system, used in a few European countries already, where you pay a deposit on drinks sold in bottles that you get back if you recycle the bottle at designated collection points.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43563164
Gregg | 29.08.18 - 8:28 p.m. | #
|
@Gregg
Some of us remember doing that years ago with our fizzy pop bottles. No government incentive was required then.
Jon Jones | 29.08.18 - 10:41 p.m. | #
|
|
Jon Jones - no, no government incentive required. That's because at that point reusable glass bottles made good business sense. But that isn't the case now that plastic is so cheap
Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 29.08.18 - 11:11 p.m. | #
|
@DG the people who created the Refill app have updated it so that it no longer requires an account in order to see the map (and all than an account allows you to do is collect nebulous points).
It’s still... not a great app though.
Getting Google to integrate “free water available” into Google Maps is a much better idea, although I’ve not seen any evidence of it so far.
Frankie Roberto | 30.08.18 - 7:33 a.m. | #
|
Once they have given us a network of free public drinking fountains, perhaps they will deal with the inevitable consequences and reopen free public lavatories.
Somehow we manged to do this until, what, the 1970s? 1980s?
Andrew | 30.08.18 - 8:13 a.m. | #
|
Andrew Bowden: "now that plastic is so cheap".
Indeed. That is my point. Make it less cheap by taxing it - as with the bags. It clearly works.
drD | Homepage | 30.08.18 - 1:45 p.m. | #
|
|
|
TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy
|