The holiday season often means marathon shopping excursions. This season askHRgreen.org has a great tip for making your shopping trips a little more merry and bright: Take along a reusable water bottle and drink plenty of water! You’ll not only feel more alert and energetic, you’ll also decrease the chances of getting a headache, resulting in a more enjoyable shopping experience.
 
The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission’s environmental education initiative, AskHRgreen.org , has launched TapIt , a region-wide network of cafés and restaurants providing free access to drinking water on the go. Before you leave home or use your smartphone while out and about, visit the website TapItWater.com/HRVA to tap into the TapIt network. Search and mapping features, which are optimized for use on mobile devices, make it easy to find the closest partner location. Users simply locate a TapIt partner and stop in to refill their water bottles – no questions asked!
 
“Reaching for the tap is the clear choice when it comes to drinking water, and the TapIt program is a convenient way for residents and visitors to refill their reusable water bottles with clean water on the go,” said Julia B. Hillegass, HRPDC Public Information and Community Affairs Administrator.
 
Restaurant owners or managers who wish to partner with TapIt can do so easily by visiting TapItWater.com/become-a-partner and completing a short form. There is no cost to join the TapIt network; businesses only need a faucet or soda machine that dispenses water. As a partner, businesses are added to the TapIt website and mobile mapping applications so users can easily locate them.

askHRgreen.org leaders are excited about the program and encourage the public to fill up—and drink up.
 
“You can fill a reusable drinking bottle more than 1,000 times for the dollar you spend on one bottle of water from the store,” added Hillegass. ”Utilizing the TapIt program will save you money, while keeping plastic bottles out of our landfills.”  
For more information on TapIt, smart water use and all things green in Hampton Roads, visit www.askHRgreen.org .