The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2024
A whimsical hydrant cap makes NYC's summer water splash use less
A CNC-machined spray cap releases ~50% less water per minute; 161M earned impressions with $0 media and a plan to save 1M+ gallons.
Street Lab
the move
For over a century, New Yorkers open fire hydrants in summer heat for relief, but the existing spray caps are rudimentary, often left on unsupervised, and flow water straight into the street.
Zulu Alpha Kilo and Street Lab made Splash Spots: a whimsical metal spray cap with a precisely calibrated set of valves and channels that release about 50% less water per minute than a standard cap, while making the splash more playful.
Each cap is CNC-machined metal for durability, and the four Splash Spot experiences debuted at NYC kids' programming events this summer, turning a wasteful public act into a designed, lower-impact one.
why it works
- It reduces water use by ~50% without removing the joy people already want.
- Metal CNC machining makes the cap durable enough for unsupervised public spray.
- A beloved ritual becomes a civic design story, generating free earned media.
- It offers a practical path for a real institution (FDNY) to adopt at scale.
what transfers
Where a wasteful habit is genuinely loved, don't remove it — rebuild the toy so the joy stays and the waste leaves.
what came after
Splash Spots drew attention from The New York Times, DesignBoom and Fast Company and earned 161 million impressions with $0 media spend. The team was working with the New York City Environmental Protection department, Parks Department and FDNY to install the caps on the 300+ hydrants opened every summer, a move that could save over a million gallons of water a season.
references
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