WATER fountains to fill up plastic drinking bottles have been appearing around Valencia City in recent weeks, with more to come as part of a €315,000 project.
Work started in December with fountains being installed this week in the La Seu, Benimaclet, Algiros, Penyaroja, Carpesa, El Carmen, Castellar-l’Oliveral, Rascanya, and Tres Forques districts.
Valencia mayor, Maria Jose Catala, said: “These fountains will supply chlorinated and refrigerated water, totally free of charge, to refill bottles.”
“We want to promote more responsible and sustainable water consumption, reducing the carbon footprint and avoiding plastic waste.”
The mayor added that fountain numbers have doubled in just a month in city districts and that figure will go up still further.
The units are made out of stainless steel with an anti-vandal safety lock which allows a bottle to be placed at a convenient height for users to be able to refill it.
The bottle is filled automatically without having to press a button and a supply timer ensures no overflowing.
The water temperature is also regulated to vary according to the time of year.
In terms of treating the water, a double filtration and disinfection is carried out using ultraviolet light, which allows dechlorination to be carried out to improve the taste of the water and to make sure it is safe to drink.
These procedures have been improved by the Department of Universal Health and Public Health of the Valencian Community.
The unit also has ozone generation equipment for the disinfection of the water supply nozzle with total respect for the environment.
