Tallinna Vesi opens over 30 public drinking water taps in Estonian capital

  • 2023-05-29
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Listed water services company Tallinna Vesi has opened more than 30 public drinking water taps in the capital for the summer season, which will provide free fresh and clean drinking water to everyone until the end of September.

Priit Kappak, head of the environment and sustainability at Tallinna Vesi, said the company's goal is to prevent and reduce harmful impacts on the environment. He said it takes almost 2,000 plastic bottles to bottle one cubic meter of water, on top of which comes the cost of resources related to the production, transportation and treatment of water.

"The more people carry their bottle with them and get used to using public drinking water taps, the less we strain the environment," Kappak said.

In addition to public water taps, Tallinna Vesi provides many public events in Estonia with free quality drinking water from tanks. Many cafes and restaurants in the capital also offer clean tap water in cooperation with Tallinna Vesi.

Tallinna Vesi's taps and water tanks provide healthy drinking water of controlled quality. Tallinna Vesi constantly monitors quality by taking water samples regularly across the city. Of the nearly 800 water samples taken this year, 100 percent met the high quality standards valid for drinking water.

Public drinking water taps can be used in the summer season when there is no risk of the water freezing in the pipe. The need for clean drinking water also increases in the summer, especially in hot weather.

Public drinking water taps have been available in Tallinn for several seasons and are very popular. Some of the water supply points also have drinking water bowls for pets.

"According to surveys, nearly 90 percent of Tallinna Vesi's end-users, or approximately 425,000 people, drink tap water. The more often we choose tap water, the more sustainable is our approach to the environment," the executive added.

The public drinking water taps are equipped with QR codes, which can be scanned to see the locations of other public water taps on the map.

AS Tallinna Vesi, the largest water company in Estonia, serves more than 24,000 domestic and corporate customers and 470,000 end consumers in Tallinn and its surrounding municipalities: the towns of Maardu and Saue, and the municipality of Harku.