Water from the tap is not free, it is a cost everyone pays in some way or another (built into rent or part of property taxes). Even if you still live with your parents, a dollar they spend on the water bill is a dollar less for you.
... also coffee is almost entirely water... so by your logic it's "almost free" as well.
No, not by my logic, not by anyone's logic. Almost the entire price of a cup of coffee covers the "bean" and "labour" part of it. The contribution of the cost of the water to the final cost of a cup of coffee is ... almost nothing at all.
The average 2013 annual water rates bill in England is £390, or $650.
> and free water fountains are indeed ubiquitous
I've just been on a day-trip to England, through two major regional airports. I paid about £12 in total for bottled water during the day, suffering inflated airport shop prices, because there was not a single water fountain ( I asked ). Average price of a 750 ml bottle was around £2.20 and I had to gulp-and-chuck frequently due to passing through security three times.
Coffee would have been cheaper...
Most of which is non-drinking uses of water, such as bathing, washing, dishwashing, cleaning, flushing, garden irrigation, filling the pool etc.
I just paid £170 (IIRC, I don't have the bill handy, but around that amount) for 65 m^3 of water. That's £.0026 per liter. The general recommendation is for an adult to drink 2 liters of water a day and let's say an average english family has four adults that get all their daily liquid intake from the home tap (safely overestimating, I think you'll agree), that's £7.60 a year. I'm sticking with "almost free".
Yes water costs. Jesus, point out the small things.