We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health
washingtonpost.com
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Mostly I filled a pretty small bottle with water and carried that around. Didn't had to carry much, because I could refill it on nearly every corner.
That said, I have seen homeless people do unspeakable things with them, so my trust is rattled.
[1] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/drinking-water-pipes-can-also...
Other kinds of fountains have valves though, like the ones which provide sparkling water. And I can guarantee people are using them, in the evening there's frequently a line of people waiting to fill their bottles.
OTOH, one of the great things about cycling in Italy is that every little teeny tiny town has a water fountain, usually near the church or town square. Even on the hottest days of summer, you could probably get by with one small water bottle if you're willing to stop regularly.
Also, every Starbucks in the U.S. seems to give out water or water with ice upon request. That's not the same as a community identity space and symbol of a water fountain or a Roman aqueduct with water endlessly flowing out of a hole in the wall (we're obviously not able to waste as much as in the past).
Perhaps the symbol of the commons replaced with nothing but apparent commercial options is what people are moral panicking about? Or is there (perhaps as a result of what follows) a popular, definite consumer mentality shift to eschewing anything free == not good, expensive == good?
When I was growing up this wasn't the case and they were the hangout of some, ahem, undesirable folk. You most definitely wouldn't have sent a child down on their own. They'd end up with an audience...
It's not so much a kindness thing as a shrewd prevention of costly issues.
Not to mention that pretty much every restaurant will give you tap water for free.
Maybe she just thought it has a bad taste, but it can't have been bad enough that I'd prefer paying 2-3 euros for bottled water.
Modern consumerism at work!
In most of Italy, 30 years ago, asking for a jug of water at a restaurant was absolutely normal; you would order bottles only if you preferred sparkling, or if you were acting stupendous.
By the mid-90s, drinking bottled water at home had become normal even in cities with perfectly working water systems. People worried about hygiene started requiring bottled water in all circumstances, to be opened in their presence (god forbid you would actively recycle glass bottles in your establishment! -- to be fair though, in a country where screwing your fellow man is considered the smart thing to do, charging bottled-water prices for tap water was far from uncommon).
Nowadays, it's expected that water should be served in bottles; it's supposedly more hygienic and it's certainly more profitable for restaurants.
Somebody joked that in Sicily people drink water bottled in the Alps, and in the Alps they drink water bottled in Sicily. It's all great for the economy, of course, and terrible for the environment, but hey, così è la vita.
A barman friend charged a client $X for a round, including a bottle of water. One of his regulars scrunched up his face in thought, did the calculations, and said "Did you just charge $6 for a bottle of water?". The reply: "Did you see her blink?". It's been ridiculously normalised. For the record, my hometown is supposedly famous for excellent tapwater for drinking.
This was not close to my experience and I spoke the country's native language. (Large Western EU country.)
[1] https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-licensing#mandatory-licensing-con...
I'm in Zürich now. There are water fountains everywhere. I believe you're never further than 100m from one, anywhere in the city? The water quality is superb --- better than most bottled water, they say --- and they run off their own distribution network, which means the water fountains operate as the emergency backup for if the main distribution network goes down. They run continuously, too.
Ah, here we go. (People are really keen on Zürich's water fountains. You can get guided tours.) https://zurich1200fountains.wordpress.com/
http://www.heathrowairport.com/static/Heathrow/Downloads/PDF...
Luton don't have nice maps for it but... http://www.london-luton.co.uk/en/faq/6/147/do-you-have-publi...
http://www.heathrowairport.com/static/Heathrow/Downloads/PDF...
Gatwick: "once you're through security, you can use our water fountains or any of our food outlets will be happy to provide you with a glass of tap water."
http://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/flying-out/secu...
I didn't say that there wasn't one (now or then), only that I couldn't find one, and that an employee told me there wasn't one—and both those facts are true.
Also... "Responding to Prof Colbourne's comments, a spokesman for airport operator BAA said drinking fountains offering free water were already installed at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Southampton airports."
This is from 2002... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-355500/Free-water-...
I also dont recall drinking fountains in Phnom Penh or Saigon's airports.
So I'm not sure what you are talking about. Maybe some of the smaller regional ones?
One potential hack around this is to find the disabled bathroom, which usually has taps with adjustable water temperature,
Ireland is not in the Schengen area
(If I'm wrong please let me know as I spend ages trying to find it usually).
To my understanding, this is no different than using the tap from your kitchen sink. It still comes from pipes and tap water is tap water. It's mostly a mental thing.
[0] http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-da...
As to your other point, people are not only touching the external edges of the aerator, but the aerator itself, which water does come in contact with.
Lastly, the bacteria present are not non-harmful, and a solid chunk of feces is not required to cause illness. The only reason why these illnesses don't commonly come from restroom faucets and surfaces is that, even though the bacteria are present in the water while washing your hands, the transfer from water, to hands, to mouth is much more difficult and unlikely, especially after drying your hands. However, if you drop those bacteria directly into a glass of water, which goes directly into your mouth, your risk increases dramatically.
Interestingly, the water from the kitchen cold tap in a house is cleaner and safer than bottled water - according to a harm reduction leaflet for IV drug use in the UK, may be different in other countries, admittedly.
I don't imagine many public restrooms draw from an uncovered main like they do in residencies, but I don't live in the U.K. so won't pretend to know such a detail. Furthermore I'm led to believe the cold tap would be fine, it's the hot tap you have to be wary of.
>I don't think there have ever been any cases of people being made ill due to drinking water from the taps in a public bathroom anywhere.
I can't help but imagine that is likely due to the fact very, very, very few people would drink water from the tap of a public bathroom and tracing it down to such a detail would likely prove to be difficult unless many people drank from that bathroom.
E:
To the person who downvoted, mind explaining why attempting to do research into U.K plumbing to educate myself on a difference between U.S plumbing and U.K plumbing is a downvote-worthy offense? I wouldn't think twice about drinking from a U.S public bathroom if I was thirsty. I'm being led to believe I shouldn't from a U.K bathroom due to plumbing differences between the U.S. and the U.K.
If I have collected any misinformation you should instead correct me so that others do not receive wrong information. Thank you.
For a practical example, in my old flat, the bathroom tap was hooked to the cold water tank that fed the hot water tank, hence potentially unsafe (definitively unsafe before I cleaned it after changing a valve). The kitchen tap was taking water directly from the main. That is BTW quite a typical british setup.
Anyway you are probably safe regardless.
But in general it's good advice for the UK as expansion overflow from the hot water system went back into the cold tank (also there might be dead wildlife in the tank).
I think there used to be restrictions about connecting mixer taps directly to the water main (I suspect this changed sometime in the late 80s / early 90s) as I remember a friend getting his shower replumbed so he could get mains water pressure in the shower and it seemed like a newish building regulation thing.
I think virtually all new installations are mains water pressure throughout.
In Germany I think I saw a dedicated drinking fountain only once. There are of course fountains, but most of the time there is a sign on them saying "Kein Trinkwasser" ("no drinking water"). We have exceptionally good tap water and I think only very few Germans fear to drink it. I notice it every time I brush my teeth in another country, it just tastes bad. So they got us with another trick: Germans are just used to sparkling water.
That is a valuable lock-in lesson: Add an unimportant but prominent usage-detail to your product as long as your customers need it so when an alternative comes along they are just used to it and too lazy to switch. Works best when your customers are children.
Water for firefighting, for example, has to be isolated from drinking water to prevent any risk of contamination. Due to how it is used, this water may have to be stored for very long periods of time and provides a breeding ground for all kinds of things you wouldn't want in your drinking water (e.g. legionella).
I'm fairly certain most (non-drinking) fountains use something like a semi-closed loop system where the same water just circulates through the fountain and fresh water is only used to replace any water lost to evaporation or spilling. This means the water is easily contaminated and therefore not suitable for drinking.
In some public restrooms (though this seems very rare), even the tap water is labelled as not safe for drinking. In these cases the tap water is likely not sufficiently isolated from the water tank for firefighting and therefore not safe despite coming from drinking water.
Depends where you go. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, tap water tasted similar to Magdeburg, Germany, tap water. Both very hard.
Glasgow has awful tap water. Fort Williams has some of the best, if you are into making tea or coffee with it, very soft.
Solve those two problems and people will use them like crazy. At U of M the fountains are everywhere. They even have little Counters saying how many bottles of water they have saved.
Another issue is the run-off, often the base of them is surrounded by muddy mess, bowls for dogs to drink out of, whatever. Proper drainage and some awareness of less common use cases would also be important.
http://blog.hughessupply.com/files/2011/11/EZH2O_Single_L_Fi...
+1 for filling stations.
I do like the fact that you can get free water almost everywhere, there was often a large can and cups on the bar, free to take. Here a tap water is sometimes as expensive as a beer (in a bar obviously).
I don't think that's what you're noticing. Water distribution tends to be pretty localized, and taste can vary quite a lot in different cities and regions depending on how it's treated and where it comes from. Be sure to taste the water in New York City if you get to visit; it's very tasty.
http://www.newsweek.com/fracking-wells-tainting-drinking-wat...
edit - Greenpoint, the neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY for any who don't know.
Also, hello neighbors!
Wow in most of Europe this would not be legal. Are you sure your local laws allow this?
Are you sure it's not legal? I increasingly get the feeling that this is an urban myth based on wishful thinking.
In one place I've had someone try to bill me for the ice and lemon in the jug of tap water (with no prior indication that they would be doing so). So yeah lot's of places will try to break this law.
EDIT + and if you're actually a customer of the business...
I have noticed a strange phenomenon in Europe too, please forgive me if I'm generalising as I'm aware it's a big place, but people there seem like they won't do something without getting paid.
Example: delivery personnel who would deliver a refrigerator up to your door (but not further, into the kitchen) and a plumber who refused to even discuss what the options were for a problem we were having that was not what he had been called in for.
That doesn't happen here. Instead, the delivery guy usually helps you unpack the item of delivery, and the plumber will offer his opinion on a job he was not necessarily called in to fix.
Once again, standard disclaimer, this is anecdata, apologies for the generalisation.
And how much are you expected to tip these people?
That's a myth, they can charge whatever they want for it.
> They also have to offer at least one non-alcoholic drink that's cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink
That is actually true.
http://www.swr.de/marktcheck/restaurant-irrtuemer-top3/-/id=...
Ofc I would expect it to vary by country. In general though everywhere here will try and sell you bottled water but give you tap water on request.
Edit: God dammit i need to refresh tabs before I reply.
It's completely ridiculous to buy bottled water here. We've got the best tap water in the world.
> a ban on dispensing alcohol directly into customers' mouths
Lame.
Reason being most restaurants earn their money from beverages (especially wine).
http://www.sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=447
http://bawsca.org/water-supply/hetch-hetchy-water-system/
http://goldengatexpress.org/2013/05/12/tap-water-sf/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Shaughnessy_Dam_(Californi...
>The dam, aqueduct and appurtenant hydroelectric systems are collectively known as the Hetch Hetchy Project. Deriving from a largely wild and pristine area of the Sierra Nevada, the Hetch Hetchy supply is some of the cleanest municipal water in the US, requiring only primary filtration and disinfection.
In Berlin, where I live now, there are fully functioning manual water pumps in some streets. People don't really use them much, but there's something quite charming about them too.
I'm personally uncertain if anything like this is backed by research.
There has to be a better option.
Still, I have to wonder: is that reasonable of me? And otherwise, is it expected to let your pet sharing the same water source with human?
In reality, though, all kind of other gross things are going to get on outdoor fountains even if we keep the dogs away, not the least of which comes from the other people who used them before you.
My understanding (and this is just what I've heard, not something I've investigated) is that if you let a well-maintained fountain run long enough, say 10 seconds, before drinking from it, it's almost certainly fine. Of course, this assumes there isn't any visible contamination on there that the water's flowing through. In short, I don't hesitate to use them if they look OK.
I don't blame you for feeling a bit disgusted, but it's possible that the salivary/gut bacteria of dogs might actually confer a benefit on humans' immune systems. There's a study underway at the University of Arizona to investigate this: http://www.uadogstudy.org/thestudy/
Dogs stereotypically have bad breath but a healthy dog on a healthy diet should smell OK. There are variations within breeds (and probably within humans in how those scents are perceived). Many dogs like to give kisses to express affection so if you get a dog in the future it's something you'll quickly get used to.
Americans are absolutely nuts about what they'll let their pets do.
But it doesn't really matter if the outside of the fountain is clean or not as long as you don't actually put your mouth on the fountain. All you care about is the water pipes inside the fountain, and those are just as clean as water pipes any where else.
http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/dogmouth.asp
> All you care about is the water pipes inside the fountain, and those are just as clean as water pipes any where else.
I don't see why they would be, especially on the end close to the outlet. I mean, lots of water pipes don't have an open end, facing upward and at angle, exposed to the outdoor environment. Sure, water fountains have shields over the outlet to minimize environmental contaminants entering them, but the fact that they are in a position to need them is an issue.
Now, it may be that in normal use the additional contamination doesn't significant additional danger (I'd expect this to be true inversely with frequency of use, all else being equal), but I wouldn't think it would be "as clean as water pipes anywhere else".
The burden of proof is on the water fountain (or more specifically, the designers of the water fountain) as to whether drinking from it is safe.
This is not a problem with being overly cautious. This is a problem with an antiquated design.
Sure, some water fountains look old...but I imagine that if you live in a major city, odds are (from a logistical standpoint, unless you live in a new subdivision) the tap water to your house or apartment flows through pipes that are older than that water fountain. A dog drinking from the fountain is gross, but I'm not sure the onus is on the designer to totally prevent people from acting silly.
*I think someone mentioned this below too.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_fountain#Cleanliness
My take away from that is to be careful of touching such surfaces, but not to worry about the stream of water.
Also the human body spends all day killing most common bacteria, mold, and similar. You don't even know it is happening. If you got sick every time you came in contact with another person's bodily fluids then you'd be sick almost daily, you'd certainly never go out to eat again, or ride public transport.
My point is, your fears are entirely unfounded. Water fountains are fine.
It's like the people that open the restroom door with a paper towel. They must realize that the people who don't was their hands touch all the other doorknobs as well?
I'd guess the bathroom door is probably the cleanest knob you'd encounter (since lots of people wash their hands before leaving).
http://gothamist.com/2014/06/12/water_fountain_or_dog_bidet....
The opposite of a drinking fountain is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, according to Wikipedia: The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of increased marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean located roughly between 135°W to 155°W and 35°N and 42°N. The patch extends over an indeterminate area, with estimates ranging very widely depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define the affected area.
If you wonder where these huge collections of garbage come from, drinking bottled beverages contributes.
We got our-self a home reverse-osmosis filter system that clears water of most particles and drink very clean water with abandon (~1 ppm non-water particles). It's really a luxury worth having, especially with kinds. Plus, no carrying around bottled water.
And no, the lack of minerals in the water did not kill any of us.. that's a fable. In fact, your body will only absorb minerals from water it if it can't get it from other food sources that have them in a more optimal chemical bounding.
I'd like to see a source for that. Tap water in Berlin is perfectly fine and drinkable. Tap water is actually held to standards that are at least as strict as bottled water. The only issue that can possibly arise is that you're living in an old house that still has lead piping, though those are very uncommon today. If you're in doubt you can have your water tested for 20 EUR, if there's a pregnant person or an infant in the household it's free: http://www.bwb.de/content/language1/html/blei.php
I've been drinking tap water in Berlin every day for three years now. I had no problems and find it quite tasty. Do you have a source (pun intended) for that?
In a bar or restaurant, tap water has to be free. They don't like that and try to sell you more expensive stuff, but the law requires free water. Great, isn't it?
I was indeed shocked by the amount of chlorine that I tasted in Californian water (I regularly work in Pasadena).
True and not necessary. You may go to the restrooms and use the tap there. Sound a bit weird, but the water is as pure as everywhere else (make sure the tap is clean) and as the water flows more or less non stop, it is even very cold.
We usually refill our empty bottles there after security.
http://gothamist.com/2014/06/12/water_fountain_or_dog_bidet....
"The disappearance of water fountains has hurt public health. Centers for Disease Control researcher Stephen Onufrak has found that the less young people trust water fountains, the more sugary beverages they drink"
- That doesn't sound like an actual study to me, just a hunch....
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/259824170_Perception...
Can find the rest of his publications here:
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen_Onufrak/publicat...
Columbia University (at least some schools there) give out water bottles and have special water fountains which have an overhead spout that fills water bottles and has a LED counter.