The Victorian Government has announced plans to change the laws for bars and nightclubs to ensure they offer free water to their customers. There are suggestions that some establishments are excessively charging and making it very awkward for customers to have some water without paying.

Here is a link to an article in the Herald Sun Newspaper

Venues are being encouraged to provide free water through water coolers being installed, to provide bottled water or to serve water over the counter.

We believe the best solution will be for venue owners to address the problem properly and install water fountains that are specifically designed for public use and with a proper servicing agreement in place the water cooler would provide clean, safe and healthy water for their patrons.

If you are a bar or nightclub and would like details of what options you have for a drinking water fountain or water cooler then either email us@easywater.com.au or give us a call on 03 95535933

Link to our Bar & Nightclub Water Fountain offer page.

There are many different types and styles of water cooler available which can sometimes become a bit confusing for the rest of the world out there that is not living and breathing water coolers!

Here is a simple guide.

Bottled Water Coolers

First off we have the old fashioned bottled cooler which is very popular and characteristically is free standing, white and has a blue bottle that sits on top. Convenience is the main benefit however the major downsides are that there's a massive environmental impact from having heavy water bottles constantly delivered (often from 100's km's away and often just from the public supply), they are less hygienic as they are an open system and you have the continual problem of changing, storing and lifting bottles.

There is a better solution to having bottles delivered though as special filter bottles are now available. These allow you to use a bottled water cooler without the need for the deliveries as you simply top up the system yourself.

Point of Use Water Coolers

These are often called POU or plumbed in water coolers and they simply attach into your existing water supply and filter the water before use. This then provides a safe, unlimited supply of water, at a fraction of the cost. They also eradicate all of the problems with the old style bottled water cooler listed above.

There are many different types of POU coolers - from conventional free standing coolers to bubblers and fountains designed for higher use, more public areas and industrial applications.

There are also many different ways of filtering and processing the water prior to delivery but this is for another day!

Some Others Types

Many homes and businesses now have under-sink units that provide a filtered and often chilled drinking water that is integrated into the kitchen sink area.

Recently 'Air to Water' systems have come on the market that provide water by extracting it from the air. This is nifty technology however there are 3 main problems - cost, speed of production and they are relatively heavy power users.

The local water company in Venice, Italy is providing discounted carbonators for it's residents according to this article here.

I wonder if this is a sign of things to come with local authorities providing discounted schemes to help people move from bottle to tap? In fact, if there are any forward thinking bureaucrats out there in Melbourne, EasyWater would be delighted to discuss a scheme to introduce discounted filtration systems and water coolers for Melbourne residents and businesses!