OH BUBBLER, WHERE ART THOU?

With summer underway, the near extinction of public water bubblers is turning Australian cities into a Sahara for parched pedestrians. It's also creating environmental damage due to unnecessary bottled water purchases.

Once an abundant and environmentally responsible community service, public drinking bubblers appear to have been all but abandoned in many Australian cities. This is one of the key findings of a new national poll of 1,000 Australians commissioned by the Bottled Water Alliance.

According to the research*:

• 79% of Aussies say there aren't enough water bubblers available in their city
• 90% have no idea where to find their local bubbler and
• 85% say they're worried about the cleanliness and safety of drinking from a bubbler.
• The study also revealed that two-thirds of Australians would buy less bottled water if there were a greater quantity of quality bubblers.

"As far as the public are concerned, public water bubblers have disappeared off the map," says Jon Dee, the organiser of the Bottled Water Alliance.

"The lack of uniform signage for bubblers and the concerns that people have about the upkeep and quality of public bubblers are significant - they're two of the reasons why Australians are spending half a billion dollars on bottled water every year."

In a move to get Australians drinking from bubblers again, the Bottled Water Alliance is calling on councils to spruce up their existing bubblers for summer. It's also calling on Councils to upgrade and install modern hi-tech water bubblers that match the convenience and quality of bottled water.

Setting a role model for other councils to follow, Manly Council has joined with the Bottled Water Alliance and installed six designer water bubblers on the Manly Corso and beachfront. In an Australian-first, all the bubblers have been fitted free of charge with hi-tech Culligan Water filters.

This makes the water coming out of the bubblers as good, if not better, than bottled water. The filtered bubblers in Manly could stop the use of 250,000 plastic water bottles every year - reducing beach litter and potentially saving consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just before Christmas, Mosman Council voted to adopt the initiative - allocating funds for 14 filtered bubblers. Culligan Water will donate bubbler filtration equipment to all other councils taking part in the Bottled Water Alliance project.

"We felt it was time the humble water bubbler had a makeover," says Tim Gordon, Managing Director of Culligan Water. "This new breed of bubbler is stylish, easy to maintain, vandal proof, wheelchair accessible and has enough water pressure to full a reusable bottle with water that's as good if not better than the bottled water being sold in shops."

The Bottled Water Alliance is a not-for-profit initiative of 'Do Something' - the new organisation started by Planet Ark Founders Jon Dee and Pat Cash. The Alliance aims to reduce Australia's bottled water use by 20% over the next two years, saving consumers up to $100 million in the process. For more information, visit www.bottledwateralliance.com

* Interviews of 1,000 Australians conducted by Pure Profile on December 3, 2008.