Greenrock recently unveiled a hydration station located on Front Street at the Hamilton Ferry Terminal, which provides the community with a free and convenient source of safe, filtered drinking water, particularly for those pedestrians on-the-go. This hydration station - otherwise known as a water/bottle re-fill station - is the first of six for an approved pilot phase in the City of Hamilton in 2012. All six of the hydration stations are being funded by Bermudian solar energy company, Alternative Energy Systems (Bermuda) Ltd. (AES), founded and operated by Tim Madeiros.

"We are thrilled to introduce this new, environmentally friendly option for people in Bermuda to access clean drinking water while they are out and about free of charge," said Judith Landsberg, Greenrock President. "In addition, we are so grateful to Mr. Madeiros at AES for funding these first six hydration stations. We hope that his generosity and interest in promoting a sustainable way of living inspires other companies to follow suit."

Mr. Madeiros added: "As a renewable energy provider and a Bermudian, I am always looking for ways to be more eco-friendly and encourage others to do the same. When I discovered the realities of our addiction to disposable bottled water and the harm it does to the environment, I knew I had to support this hydration station initiative."

According to Greenrock, in Bermuda, approximately 17 litres of imported bottled water are consumed every minute, and if you were to fill one-third of a plastic water bottle with oil, you would be looking at roughly the amount used to produce and transport that bottle. In addition, it takes approximately 450 years for a plastic water bottle to degrade in the natural environment.

With statistics like these, Charles Brown, Director of the Sustainable Development Department, is also in support of the installation of hydration stations in Bermuda. "Encouraging people to reduce waste and their reliance on imports is consistent with the mandate of Bermuda's Sustainable Development Plan," said Mr. Brown.

"BAC will be maintaining the stations and replacing the filters per the recommended guidelines," said Dr Landsberg. "In addition, we can monitor usage through a built-in metre which will help us estimate the decrease in plastic water bottle consumption."

Each station costs $6,000 complete with shipping. The City of Hamilton is pitching in by installing the hydration stations and supplying all of the water free of charge.

The hydration stations, produced by the Australian corporation Aquafil, are built to stand up against tropical storms and vandals alike. The stations have been used successfully in areas across Australia, including the coast which is similar to the marine environment in Bermuda.

The remaining five hydration systems that are a part of this pilot phase will be installed by the end of the week in the following locations:

• Queen St. -Par-la-Ville Park entrance
• Dundonald St./Cedar Ave. - Victoria Park entrance
• Church St. - Bus Terminal
• Reid St. extension - outside Cavendish parking lot
• Union St. - Liberty Theatre

"The next phase for installation of hydration stations will be on the railway trail and we are hopeful that in the future this project will expand into St. Georges, Dockyard and the airport," said Dr Landsberg.

For more information, please contact Greenrock at info@greenrock.org.