There is one thing Venice will never be short of and that is water. Now officials want thirsty tourists to give up swigging from their bottles of mineral water and to take advantage of the city's numerous drinking fountains. From tomorrow in a square near Piazzale Roma, where most tourists arrive in the city, visitors are to be handed a kit consisting of an empty plastic bottle and a map showing the location of 122 fountains across Venice from which they can fill and refill with drinking water. The bottles will be labelled with a chemical analysis of the water that gushes from the fountains, which the local water authority describes as "super-safe". The bottles will also carry the slogan: "Don't throw me away; reuse me". City officials estimate that 18 million to 19 million people visit Venice every year. Most slog across its squares and down its alleyways under a broiling sun. But the millions of plastic bottles the tourists leave behind add greatly to the city's already considerable waste disposal problems. The issue was first taken up by the Catholic church. In February the Venice patriarchate called on the faithful to give up mineral water for Lent. A statement put out by its diocesan lifestyle centre said the aim was to "revive a sense of responsibility for the safeguarding of creation". Italians are the world's biggest consumers of bottled water, according to the Washington DC-based Earth Policy Institute. In 2006 they guzzled an average of 246 litres (54 gallons) a person, which was more than the average for the United Arab Emirates or Mexico. Venice city council is hoping the latest campaign will appeal to Venetians as well as tourists, especially at a time when the Italian economy is slowing. Officials point out that tap water costs just nine eurocents (7p) a litre. The council-sponsored project is being mounted to coincide with UN World Environment Day, although this year the main thrust of that initiative is the reduction of carbon emissions.