Whanganui District Council could invest $110,000 in public drinking fountains during the next decade

Installing more drinking fountains will be considered as part of Whanganui District Council's long-term plan. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui could have more public drinking fountains over the next few years — at the cost of $11,000 a year.

A report from Whanganui District Council senior parks manager Wendy Bainbridge says the council had installed 18 new fountains during the past six years, but that was a total increase of only five on what was there before.

Even though the district was slightly ahead of the average in terms of fountains per capita, it was not “leading the way”.

“The need to improve the provision of water fountains has been well documented for over 15 years within Whanganui District Council and is regularly identified by the community as an area of growth that is desired,” the report says.

It recommends the council invest $110,000 in fountains over the next decade.

“The proposed spending will increase our service provision for the community in an area where it is expected as a minimum requirement for recreational areas.

If the council stepped back from that provision, in “an area that contributes to mental and health wellbeing”, it would present a conflicting message, the report says.

All sports grounds now have at least one fountain, with the focus shifting to playground areas.

The council is in charge of 16 playgrounds in Whanganui, and Bainbridge recommends it spend $3 million on them over the next decade.

“Through not having sufficient available drinking fountains, open spaces and sports fields are often littered with discarded water bottles after events and this creates a disposal cost through contractors as well as the environmental cost of having plastic bottles going into landfill when it is avoidable,” the report says.

“Users may well have brought a reusable water bottle from home but, with nowhere to fill it, they will resort to bottled water in a one-use bottle.”

The report is up for consideration for the council’s 2024-24 long-term plan, which comes into effect on July 1.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.