A wide disparity in the number of public drinking fountains across London boroughs has been revealed.
According to data obtained by water bottle company Ocean Bottle, while some boroughs had only a small handful of fountains operated by the local council or City Hall, others had more than 50.
The statistics, gained through Freedom of Information requests, say the highest numbers of fountains were found in Southwark (53), Lambeth (51) and Lewisham (43), with only one in Barking and Dagenham and none in Havering.
Ocean Bottle’s data says Westminster, one of the most visited boroughs, has 17 public fountains. The figures do not include fountains in parks and other public spaces not run by the council or City Hall.
Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat on the London Assembly, said: “It is small wonder Londoners are buying, on average, three bottles of water a week in disposable bottles when there is only one public water fountain per 20,000 Londoners. This must be sorted out.”
In addition to those operated by councils, some 110 fountains have been installed across the city by Mayor Sadiq Khan in partnership with Thames Water. Some 40 more were also installed in London's schools, but were not included in the statistics because they are not accessible to the general public. A further 28 were provided in public places in partnership the Zoological Society of London.
A spokeswoman for the Mayor said: “The installation of all these fountains will help to reduce the harmful impacts of plastic waste on our environment, resulting in a greener, cleaner and better London for everyone.”
