Youngsters Paid Tribute To One Of Dumfries' Former Residents When They Unveiled A New Water Refill Tap In the Town

The high tech Top Up Tap has been installed by Scottish Water on Queensberry Square as part of its national initiative to encourage people to carry a reusable bottle and stay hydrated on the go.

Primary 2 pupils from Noblehill Primary School donned 18th century outfits and recited some poems by Robert Burns. They used drinking vessels from around the same time as Scotland’s national Bard who lived in the town when they became the first users of the town’s new water tap. Two older pupils marked the launch by playing the bagpipes and a chanter.

They were joined by whisky tasters from one of the town’s oldest businesses, whisky and wine specialists TH Watson. Clad in a colourful tartan outfit director Brian Gibson – who run the area’s Drambusters Whisky Club – sampled water from the new tap and described it as:

pure, crisp clean and extremely refreshing.

Two rescue dogs and volunteers from Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre also came along to try out the blue tap to highlight how four-legged residents can have their drinking bowls topped up from the tap too.

The refill point is the fourth to be installed since Scottish Water announced it would create a network across the country to offer people access to fresh, clean drinking water at the push of a button.

Scott Fraser, Regional Communities Manager at Scottish Water, said:

It’s fantastic to be able to bring one of our taps to Dumfries as part of our Your Water Your Life Campaign – this is our most southerly tap. We’re encouraging everyone – local residents, workers in and visitors to the town – to make full use of the tap year- round by topping up their reusable bottles when they’re out and about. It can benefit health and wellbeing, saves money and helps reduce waste and the impact on the environment.