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Montreal Hydrants Turn Into Water Fountains

Montreal is taking a unique approach to increasing the public's water supply by repurposing existing fire hydrants into water fountains.

Montreal has retrofitted two fire hydrants with a device that enables them to also serve as public drinking fountains, Jonathan Andrews reports for Cities Today.


The Association of Industrial Designers of Quebec developed the innovation as a way to make city water more accessible without incurring substantial construction costs. The hydrant-fountains also are intended to cut down on reliance of bottled water that uses plastic packaging.

Three more hydrants are slated for retrofits. The hydrants can still be used by emergency crews to douse fires. Among the unforeseen benefits: homeless and elderly residents have made considerable use of the fountains, the article says. Other cities already have expressed interest in the valve technology, known as the Bornéo system.


Read the full story here.

This article originally appeared on Citiscope. Citiscope is a nonprofit news outlet that covers innovations in cities around the world. More at Citiscope.org.