Innovative Tap Water Program Welcomed At SF Elementary School
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – San Francisco's tap water pilot project marked another milestone at one of the city's elementary schools Wednesday morning with the installation of new state of the art refillable water stations.
Along with the unveiling of the new refillable water station, students at San Francisco's John Yehall Chin Elementary School were given reusable metal beverage bottles to tote around.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Ed Harrington said it's about giving the kids the tools to make better decisions about what they drink, and helping to cut waste at the same time.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
"If you're going to have that water you shouldn't be using those old-fashioned plastic bottles," said Harrington. "Plastic bottles aren't good for the environment, they really don't biodegrade. Even the new ones, it takes forever to have that happen."
Five San Francisco public schools now have the refillable stations at a cost to the PUC of about $5,000 to $7,500 each.
At a morning assembly, Board of Supervisors president David Chiu told students that the program helps to keep San Francisco at the forefront of transitioning away from plastic water bottles.
"The way to do that is to make sure that we have taps all over the city where you can actually refill these water bottles," said Chiu.
The tap water pilot project is expanding to another 21 schools over the next few years.
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