Giving young people easy access to sparkling clean drinking water is a key part of teaching them to make healthy choices.
Whether in schools or at universities, students who drink water regularly don't become dehydrated and are less likely to turn to soft drinks, ‘energy’ drinks and other unhealthy alternatives.
The Water People are highly qualified experts in planning and installing drinking taps for schools and universities, and we can help you choose the best solutions for your school or campus.
Drinking fountains
Whether it’s for a quick drink on the run or to refill water bottles, drinking fountains are the backbone of any school or university’s network of drinking water points.
- The best outdoor drinking fountains are rugged units such as our galvanised steel Outdoor Pedestal Drinking Fountain, a vandal-resistant and low-maintenance option with self-closing taps.
- The best indoor drinking fountains are premium models such as our Zip EconoMaster Drinking Fountain. With an attractive powder coating or stainless steel finish, they can dispense up to 140 glasses an hour of filtered and chilled water.
- For the most economical drinking fountain on the market with no compromise on quality, we recommend the Waterlux Robust Drinking Fountain. Its moulded polyethylene housing makes it very affordable.
See our full range of drinking fountains here.
Alternatives to drinking fountains
In some locations in your school or campus it may make more sense to consider alternatives to drinking fountains such as
- Water coolers: There’s a wide range of floor-standing and counter-top water coolers available for use in locations where installing a drinking fountain just isn’t practical.
- Wall-mounted instant hot water taps: Are an extremely efficient way of dispensing large volumes of boiling water in settings such as canteens and kitchens.
- Filtered water taps: Mounted over a sink, they can deliver instant hot and cold drinking water - and even sparkling water - at the press of a button, while the under-bench unit is hidden out of sight.
Planning: positioning, volumes, and sources
The optimal positioning of drinking water points across the buildings and grounds of a large institution takes expertise. Considerations include traffic flows and usage volumes as well as the locations of mains water sources, drainage connections and power points.
The Water People are market-leading experts in designing integrated drinking water solutions for healthcare and education facilities as well as residential, commercial and industrial settings.
When it comes to big premises such as school and university campuses, we take the time needed to evaluate all options and then provide our customers with the most efficient solutions available.
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Maintaining over 200 water systems at La Trobe University
For example, our comprehensive audit of the drinking water requirements of La Trobe University’s 300-hectare Bundoora campus took us three days. Our strong, ongoing relationship with La Trobe Uni has seen us supply and service over 200 systems for the university since 2015.
Read more about our services for schools and universities
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Filters
Water quality differs widely across Australia and even within suburbs, so we recommend adding a filter system to any drinking water system wherever possible.
There are several different water filtration methods. We supply, install and maintain an extensive range of filter options, and we pride ourselves on providing the best solutions, not pushing products.
To help you maintain the purity of your drinking water, we keep records of when your filter cartridges are due to be changed, and we can either notify you to change your filters or we take care of it for you.
Servicing
A poorly maintained drinking water system poses risks including contamination, flooding and short-circuiting. Therefore we recommend they are regularly inspected and serviced by professionals, even if your institution has its own on-site maintenance teams.
Scheduled servicing by The Water People’s fully equipped expert technicians means guaranteed water quality year-round and comprehensive service record-keeping.
When it comes to call-outs we offer fast on-site service, and we keep our fees low.
Should you buy or rent?
You can purchase your drinking water systems outright from us, or choose from our wide range of products available on rental agreements that may better suit your budget or cash flow.
We don't lock you into long-term contracts because we believe in the quality of our products and services.
Our rental agreements encompass installation, maintenance, filter changes and service call-outs, all taken care of by our experienced technicians under one easy monthly rental plan.
