Where Could Public Water Taps Go in the South End?

"Water, water everywhere, so let's all have a drink," District 6 Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley said, citing the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, during Wednesday's City Council meeting.

O’Malley wants to bring more water bubblers, water fountains and water filling stations to Boston neighborhoods. He pointed to San Francisco which in 2010 installed "tap stations” allowing residents to fill reusable water containers "in a clean and sanitary way." At the stations, people could reuse their own containers rather than purchase single-use bottled water.

"Every runner, walker, parent knows park routes, and knows where the iconic bubblers are," O'Malley said.

He said he runs at Jamaica Pond because he knows the water fountain at the boat house is open eight months a year.

O'Malley said it's a shame that people worry so much about germs when it comes to public water taps, saying that Boston has some of the healthiest and safest water in the country. He added that water bottling companies actually bottle and sell Boston tap water.

District 2 Councilor Bill Linehan liked the idea, saying he has run many a mile through the years in Boston, and spots to get drinking water are rare.

According to environmental watchdog organizations Environmental Working Group and Corporate Accountability International, Boston’s tap water is some of the cleanest, safest water in the nation. 

But Masssachusetts residents are using a lot of water and plastic:

• Massachusetts residents drink more than 300 million gallons in a year.
• Massachusetts is sixth in the U.S. in overall water consumption. 
• Less than 20 percent of those bottles are recycled, with the rest ending in landfills or as litter. 
• The Pacific Institute reported bottled water is up to 2,000 times more energy intensive to produce than the region’s tap water.

So where would you like to see water bubblers, water fountains or filling stations in your neighborhood? Let us know in the comments below.