quench-featureThe Owen Sound Water Watchers, a grass roots community group dedicated to the protection of water, and Bayview Public School's Grade 5/6 environmentally concerned students invite you to join in the Owen Sound Quench program.

This is a unique community-based program dedicated to promoting municipal tap water as a safe, healthy, easily accessible alternative to purchasing bottled water.

The Marketside Cafe was the first business in Owen Sound to sign up as an official Quench Station, encouraging users to carry reusable water bottles and use the smart phone app to find convenient sources of free water. Look for the Quench decal in the Marketside window and in a growing number of stores and restaurants. The Downtown Improvement Area (DIA) supports the Quench program.

The recent March 2015 action plan released by the Grey Bruce Health Unit Healthy Food Choices and Tap Water report recommends that all Grey Bruce municipalities "improve, promote and maintain tap water access by establishing a comprehensive public awareness campaign to promote the use of tap water and reduce the use of bottled water." The grade 5/6 students at Bayview have made a yearlong inquiry into the social and environmental issues created by the use of bottled water and will be offering their research and recommendations to the City of Owen Sound, as well as helping with the Quench program.

Any business can join in by emailing their business name, address, phone number and photo to [email protected]. By becoming a Quench Station your business will take an active role in promoting healthy choices in our community, Their location will be displayed on the free Quench mobile app, hosted by TVO's Water Brothers, indicating the business is offering free access to municipal tap water to refill personal water bottles.

source: media release