WHAT MAKES A DRINKING FOUNTAIN DDA COMPLIANT?
10 Mar 2022
Do you often wonder if the street furniture in a facility is DDA compliant? It is hard to notice at first glance, but a little bit of research conducted by Astra Street Furniture will help clear things up.
Not all drinking fountains on the market comply with DDA requirements, overall making them unfit for use in accessible areas within a facility. Astra Street Furniture has conducted research into what features make a drinking fountain DDA compliant.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
DDA-compliant drinking fountains are strategically placed in positions that do not intrude on the path of travel for pedestrians. When installing drinking fountains there must be a clear passage of at least 1000mm to meet standards. DDA-compliant drinking fountains are accessible from both sides and the front of the unit. A recommended space for wheelchairs for overhanging fountains is 1800 x 15000mm with a minimum of 800mm. A minimum clearance overhang for wheelchairs is 300mm for both a front and side approach.
HEIGHT IS ALL
Another component to be considered is the height. The height of a DDA-compliant drinking fountain should allow an individual to drink at a height of approximately 800-900mm. For wheelchairs users this allows a spacious amount of room to access the fountain and get close enough to easily drink from it. 
TO TOUCH OR NOT TO TOUCH
There are two types of drinking fountain operating systems – sensors or manually operated. Astra Street Furniture drinking fountains are manually operated. The manual controls of the drinking fountain can vary from a lever handle or a pushbutton control. A lever handle is required to be a minimum of 45mm long and a pushbutton control is to be a minimum of 25mm in diameter. A pushbutton control is to be activated before the button becomes level with the surrounding surface at a maximum force of 20N. The manual controls of the drinking fountains are to be within 300mm from the leading edge on the approach side, with a height range of 600-1100mm. The best preference height is 800-900mm.
With this one-stop-shop guide to a DDA-complaint drinking fountain provided by Astra Street Furniture, you will never be left clueless or confused about what is needed to attain DDA requirements.
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