Bubblers help rid city of bottles

Lismore City Council water education officer Kevin Trustum drinks from one of the new water bubblers on Woodlark Street in the Lismore CBD, while mayor Jenny Dowell lines up refillable water bottles on offer for residents.

Jacklyn Wagner

LISMORE City Council has installed two new water bubblers to dispense free filtered water - and help rid the city centre of plastic bottles.

The wheelchair accessible bubblers have been installed, as part of the Woodlark Street upgrade, in the Lismore CBD to encourage the public to fill their own reusable water bottles instead of purchasing bottled water while visiting the CBD.

“Council wants to help residents and visitors to save money and always have access to great drinking water – but without the environmental price of bottled water," Lismore City Council mayor Jenny Dowell said.

“Water bottles are a major source of litter in Lismore and often end up in the Wilsons River, in local creeks or on roadsides. Even when disposed of responsibly, most single use water bottles disposed of in public areas end up in landfill, as opposed to being reused and recycled.

 “Lismore’s tap water is a high quality, clean and reliable drinking water. The bubblers filter the water and then dispense it for free. It tastes a lot like bottled spring water."