A new mobile phone app is offering local consumers an easy way to locate places to refill their reusable bottles with free tap water. The “TapIt Metro DC” app is now available for free at the Apple iTunes app store and will be available later this week at the Google Play store or at freetapwater.org. The app identifies participating businesses within the Washington region using a map interface.

The app is part of a joint effort between the national TapIt campaign,the Council of Governments and local water utilities that enables anyone with a water bottle to get a free refill at local participating businesses.  This effort in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia will help reduce landfill waste and litter, as well as provide a sustainable, affordable alternative to buying non-renewable bottled water.  The app will make finding participating businesses as easy as finding an ATM, Metro station or restaurant. With over 400 locations in the Metro D.C. region, finding tap water will become even easier.

“This app is a great reminder that residents of our region have easy access to great-tasting, healthy, abundant tap water. And refills through TapIt are free,” said the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s Jim Neustadt, who serves as Chair of the COG Community Engagement Campaign of regional water supply and wastewater officials. “And while the water we get from the tap at home isn’t free, it’s a whole lot cheaper than bottled water. Tap water is a great value.”

TapIt is a multistate non-profit that has partnered with stakeholders in the Washington region to expand tap water consumption. TapIt has locations in over 22 states and the District.

To find out more about TapIt Metro DC, click here.