Be Cool, Stay Cool, Drink Tap Water at School (United Kingdom)

For several years, Portsmouth Water offered every primary, infant and junior school in their area a drinking water bottle for each pupil at a subsidised rate. Portsmouth Water is one of the oldest water companies in the country, having been incorporated in 1857. Their water source is derived from the chalk of the South Downs and is abstracted from wells, boreholes, springs and the River Itchen. The Springs at Havant and Bedhampton are thought to be the largest group of springs used for public supplies in Europe. The ‘Be Cool, Stay Cool, Drink Tap Water at School’ project was part of their community initiative to promote the health benefits to young children of drinking water, especially as the quality of Portsmouth Water’s tap water is so good. The water company wrote to every primary, infant and junior school in the area, offering them the opportunity to purchase drinking water bottles ready for the new school year in September. Bottles could also be ordered by downloading an application form from their website. The responses were overwhelming, with over 470,000 water bottles delivered to local schools.

Sue Allery, Portsmouth Water’s HR and Community Officer said “We all know that drinking water is good for a number of reasons such as hydration levels and anything that we can do to support local children to lead a healthier lifestyle can only be a good thing. We have been overwhelmed with the response and support to our drinking water bottle initiative and are therefore delighted to continue with it at the same subsidised rate of 30p per bottle.”