Drinking fountains
Site planning
Best practice guidance for site planning
Decision framework
Drinking fountains must be developed in accordance with the National Construction Code (NCC).
Drinking fountains must be installed as per the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 by a licensed plumber. Please see LIM Drinking fountains - Design.
There are a range of Australian Standards/best practice guidelines, relating to this category. Key documents are referenced throughout and in the LIM Drinking fountains - Standards.
Site decisions
All decisions, including the location of the embellishment and related infrastructure, must be made in conjunction with council (determined by site location), including officers from such areas as:
- Council (Parks and Gardens)
- Council (Environmental Operations)
- Council Development Services (Plumbing Services)
Users
Consult with council stakeholders, neighbouring properties and identified park users in the planning stage of a project.
Site conditions
Consider the physical characteristics of a site and requirements of the activities conducted:
- prevailing winds
- location of utilities
- well drained site
- level surface
- flood immunity requirements.
Co-location of facilities
- Facilities, including parking and pathways, are often already established and need to be considered in the determination of drinking fountain location.
- Locate near water service for connection to a mains water supply.
- Drinking fountains should be considered near facilities, such as picnic areas, exercise equipment, walking/cycling paths, skate parks and play spaces.
Safety
- Safety clearances must be met.
- Adopt principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) – Guidelines for Queensland. Locate drinking fountains to allow users to feel safe, and to provide an opportunity for casual surveillance.
- It is recommended that drinking fountains/bottle filling stations are installed in high CPTED value areas where passive surveillance may discourage unhygienic practices or illegal use of drinking fountains.
- Do not locate drinking fountains in dog exercise areas (DEAs) fenced areas.
- A dog drinking bowl attached to a drinking fountain/bottle filling station is not preferred due to safety and the hygiene risk. Depending on the design, it may also make it difficult to access the drinking fountain/bottle filling station by a person using a wheelchair.
Potential site conflicts
Locate drinking fountains away from:
- Trees, as tree roots have been known to follow the water discharge and damage the water fountain body and foundations.
- Installation of the inspection pit will help identify this potential issue before further damage has occurred.
Planning for sustainability
Refer Design principles – Sustainability for guidance.
Planning for future works
- Co-locate embellishments requiring similar services e.g. water, to reduce infrastructure, where possible.
- Where underground utilities are installed, set brass markers to concrete slab edges to indicate the location.
- Consider installation of additional conduits under concrete slabs for future provision, where utilities (e.g. electrical, water) and irrigation systems are planned. Ensure additional conduit is capped to prevent ingress of water and debris.
- Consider climate change impacts on the embellishment location and construction 1.
- In coastal areas, or near waterways, design should consider rise in sea level predictions, storm tide, salt inundation and severe storm events.
- Positioning should also consider flooding, seasonal/ephemeral water bodies and water table changes.
- Near bushland areas, design should consider the occurrence of bushfires.
Source 1: Sunshine Coast Environment and Liveability Strategy 2017.
Plumbing project flowchart
This flowchart has been developed to guide the planning, design and delivery of plumbing projects in Council open space areas.
See Appendix A: Plumbing project flowchart.
This component is currently in development