“Wherever you are in the world, you won’t have to pay for a drink of water when you are thirsty.” This is the mantra of the BlueW organization and the reason that Niverville has become one of the newest members of this international, community-based program. 

BlueW.org was created to make healthy drinking water easily accessible to everyone, eliminating the need to purchase bottled water. Their website provides easy-to-navigate maps that guide the user to the nearest locations where they can find clean, free, public, and commercial sources to fill their reusable bottle. Niverville is now one of over 26,000 locations to hit that map.

“It’s a great way to promote our municipal water system, and also provide a service to residents and visitors who may be walking, biking, etc. in or through town,” says Angela Janz, Recreation Director for the Town of Niverville. “It’s also a great thing with us being a part of the Crow Wing Trail, to have locations where trail users can stop and fill up their water bottles at no cost.”

Current Niverville locations include the town office, Hespelers Cookhouse and Tavern, and Bigway Foods. Janz is hopeful, though, that other businesses will come on board to provide this terrific service to residents and visitors alike. 

“They need to be on municipal water and have a faucet [which is] easily accessible or a jug of tap water available,” Janz says. “The only stipulations are that an employee cannot take their water bottle and fill it for them where they cannot view, they cannot use washrooms for refilling, and it cannot be in a school.”

Janz became aware of the program through Southern Health, who made a presentation at a meeting of recreation professionals this past spring. When she presented the opportunity to council, they approved.

BlueW.org is another innovative way for sojourners and world travellers to quench their thirst around the globe. Look for the BlueW.org decal in participating shop and restaurant windows.