The Taipei Water Department said it has recently added QR codes to 17 newly designed drinking fountains, allowing smartphone users to obtain data on water quality in a bid to address consumers’ concerns about clean tap water.
Water from bottles and dispensers is not necessarily better than tap water, department Commissioner Chen Chin-hsiang (陳錦祥) said.
Potable tap water is a major sign of a city’s development, Chen said, adding that even though public perception might see bottled water as “cleaner” and “safer,” its quality is not very different from boiled tap water.
Photo: Hsiao Ting-fang, Taipei Times
At the same time, bottled water is also a source of waste and costs resources to make, Chen said, while water dispensers can offer unsafe water if their filters are not changed regularly.
Seeing as how most residents are accustomed to drinking tap water after boiling it, the city government made concerted efforts to create these fountains, Chen said.
The fountain’s water originates from warehouse-sized containers, Chen said.
The 17 fixed drinking fountains, as well as six mobile versions, are made from materials that ensure easy relocation and feature special designs on the varying foundations, including stone bases, “family-style” bases and stainless steel blocks.
The department plans to install 33 more fountains by the end of the year, Chen said, adding that the city government would monitor water quality 24 hours a day.
Aside from the newly designed fountains, there are more than 641 fountains near Taipei MRT stations and bus stops, schools, parks, governmental facilities, tourist hotels and public libraries, Chen said.
The QR codes are available for these fountains as well, and link residents directly to the city government information platform, where they can find turbidity data, residual chloroform levels and Escherichia coli bacterial counts, Chen said.
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