More stations for providing tap water will be installed throughout San Francisco parks and schools in an effort to deter children from drinking soda and other sugary drinks.
Mayor London Breed announced Monday she has set aside $805,000 in funding in order to install 22 more stations at San Francisco Unified School District schools and 14 more stations at parks and open spaces.
Schools and parks throughout the city currently have a total of 107 drink tap stations already installed.
Part of the funding for the new stations comes from the city's 2016 voter-approved Soda and Sugary Beverages Tax Measure, which imposed a one cent per ounce tax on the distribution of sugary beverages, Breed's office said.
"If we're serious about moving children away from sugary, unhealthy beverages then we need to provide healthy alternatives," Breed said in a statement.
"Thanks to the city's soda tax, we are expanding this important program ensuring that every student in our public school system has access to our great tap water," she said.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission first started installing drink tap stations in 2010 in public spaces to provide residents with access to high-quality tap water and to encourage them to reuse their own containers rather than buy single-use plastic water bottles.
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SFPUC General Manager Harlan Kelly Jr. said, "Not only are our residents -- and in particular our youth -- getting a healthy alternative to soda and other sugary drinks, they are also helping to reduce wasteful practices by moving away from plastic bottles."
