New Top up Tap unveiled in Kirkwall

Orkney shoppers, revellers, and the wider public are being encouraged to carry a refillable water bottle and make use of a new a Top up Tap, which is the latest addition to Kirkwall’s town centre.

The state-of-the-art Top up Tap, which is located at the junction of Broad Street and Palace Road, will allow people to top up their water bottles with free, great-tasting water.

It is part of Scottish Water’s Your Water, Your Life campaign which encourages more people to carry a refillable bottle with them and drink tap water on the go to stay hydrated, save money and help protect the local environment by reducing the amount of waste.

The Kirkwall tap is the seventeenth to be installed across Scotland so far, with the total expected to rise to 70 over the next 18 months.

Scottish Water network maintenance operative Jon Smales and Evan Ward helped install the tap. Mr Smales said: “We’re delighted to be able to bring one of our hi-tech taps to Kirkwall, rounding off our first full year of installing Top up Taps across Scotland.

“We want to make it easier for Orcadians and visitors to stay hydrated on the go and enjoy our great tasting water whenever they are out and about.

“We’re encouraging everybody to top up from the tap as much as possible and get into the habit of carrying a refillable bottle with them when they leave the house. As well as the health benefits of drinking more water, it also saves you money and helps reduce waste.”

Since the first tap was launched in Edinburgh in October 2018, more than 40,000 litres of water has been drunk from Scottish Water’s expanding collection of Top Up Taps — the equivalent of 120,000 standard 330ml single-use plastic bottles.