Visitors to key recreation facilities in South Geelong will be able to quench their thirst through the installation of new drinking fountains.
The City received a $50,000 grant from VicHealth to place 11 drinking fountains within the Kardinia Park precinct and John Landy Athletics Field.
The project has seen the installation of:
- Four fountains in the Kardinia Park parklands (outside GMHBA Stadium);
- Four at Kardinia Aquatic Centre; and
- Three at John Landy Athletics Field.
Users can drink directly from the fountains or use the bottle-filling taps to take water away with them.
The project follows an initiative by VicHealth, Kardinia Park Stadium Trust and Barwon Water to install ten drinking stations within GMHBA Stadium.
The VicHealth program aims to encourage people to choose water as a healthy alternative to sugar-flavoured drinks.
With no added sugar and no kilojoules, water is the healthiest option for hydration.
However, health statistics show that people are not drinking enough water and are consuming high amounts of sugar.
The City's Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2018-2021 showed that, on average, Greater Geelong's population consumed less water than the recommended daily amount.
Data published in the plan also indicated that about 35 per cent of Greater Geelong adults drank sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a week.
The fountains have been branded with the G21 region 'Choose Water Every Day' campaign messaging, to encourage the community to drink water.
The regional facilities were chosen due to their high visitation and use for organised sporting events and recreational activities.
Kardinia Park is home to community netball, cricket and football facilities, as well as having passive recreational facilities such as playgrounds and a walking track.
Kardinia Aquatic Centre is a popular destination for families and recreational swimmers, hosting a large number of swimming carnivals over the summer months.
John Landy Athletics Field is the birth place of Little Athletics in Australia.
It is a training base for athletics from novice to elite standards and is heavily used for athletics carnivals.
Greater Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood
This is a great initiative, as water is clearly the best choice for your health and your hip pocket.
The new fountains make it easier for people to freely access water while they are on the move and enjoying our quality recreation facilities.
VicHealth Acting CEO Dr Lyn Roberts
VicHealth is proud to partner with the City of Greater Geelong to give locals access to healthy, fresh drinking water. We want to make it easy for residents to access tap water instead of sugary drinks. Water is great for us, free and now even more accessible.
With nearly two-thirds of Victorians currently overweight or obese, reducing your intake of sugary drinks is one way to promote a healthier diet and improve health, prevent tooth decay and help reduce plastic waste.
