# Are public water fountains a strictly American thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232 "2012-10-19T15:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/21 "2012-10-19T23:32:17Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > More cost effective for whom? The bottling companies in the US sure love charging a huge markup for what is essentially tap water with a witch doctor’s blessing. > > I saw not a one in my last trip to Europe (Norway). Not even in the airport. My theory is that they want you to buy the $5US bottled water. I lived off of bathroom faucets and the bottle I initially bought. > > I never never lived in a place in the US that did not chlorinate the water. Chlorine certainly doesn’t make it non-potable, although as said, it doesn’t (necessarily) make it drinkable either. Hell, most places put in its nastier cousin, chloramine. I am going to type slow, so you can understand, okay? Here in Mexico you bring your empty 5 gallon jug to the store and exchange it for a full one. There are no bottling companies charging a huge markup. Yes, in the US they use chlorine, and municipalities are required to test for many contaminates, i,e lead, bacteria, etc. This doesn’t happen in Mexico. Got the picture? ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/22 "2012-10-20T00:17:05Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > I think you were just looking in the wrong places. I remember visiting public fountains in Italy, Greece, France… They [don’t](http://www.roninrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/img_4735.jpg) [always](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Kos_Water_Fountain,_Greece.jpg) [look](http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/seannel/seannel0703/seannel070300346/852997-old-ornate-public-drinking-fountain-in-cannes-france.jpg) like the fountains in the US. And they’re usually in piazzas and lanes, not in buildings. Yes, on my holidays to Italy I’ve seen lots, and filled bottles from them on hot sunny days. They resemble the first link, and the locals use them as well. In fact [here’s one that I’ve drunk from](http://goo.gl/maps/lCsuc), in Lecco. Here’s [another one](http://goo.gl/maps/vQ99o) in Brescia, with some people next to it. I am living proof that the water is safe. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/23 "2012-10-20T00:52:46Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I am going to type slow, so you can understand, okay? … This doesn’t happen in Mexico. Got the picture? **Moderator Note** **harmonicamoon** , there’s no need for this kind of snark. Dial it back. No warning issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/24 "2012-10-20T01:27:00Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > Not true, at least in the UK, though if you just ask for water rather than specify tap water you may be served the expensive bottled stuff. Licenced premises must provide free tap water on demand to any member of the public, it’s a condition of their alcohol licence. No other purchase necessary either. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/25 "2012-10-20T01:55:22Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > I am going to type slow, so you can understand, okay? Here in Mexico you bring your empty 5 gallon jug to the store and exchange it for a full one. There are no bottling companies charging a huge markup. > Yes, in the US they use chlorine, and municipalities are required to test for many contaminates, i,e lead, bacteria, etc. This doesn’t happen in Mexico. Got the picture? There are many bottling companies charging large mark ups. The brand Santorini is owned by Pepsi. Coca-Cola sells bottled water under the name Ciel. Bonafont is owned by Danone. Here in Guadalajara a local soft drink producer Aga also sells bottled water. Home delivery usually runs about 24 pesos for a 19L garrafón. A few pesos more in stores. The delivery trucks come down the street daily except Sunday so we don’t often take empty bottles to the store. if we miss the delivery truck or run out on the weekend perhaps. And municipalities here are required by law to test their water. They check surface water such as rivers and wells for contamination and also are required to test at the treatment planrts. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/26 "2012-10-20T04:13:34Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Here in Mexico, I pay approximately $30/year for metered water. About $6/year for bottled water. Not counting the cockroaches, I live alone so I don’t cook often. How often do the cockroaches take showers? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/27 "2012-10-20T04:57:36Z")
When I worked in a DC government office building, I noticed that my coworkers always avoided the drinking fountains, instead preferring to bring their own mega-jug of plain water from home. People seemed suspicious and distrustful of water coming from a machine that they don’t personally have control over. Some participated in office water cooler clubs, which if I remember correctly cost each person between five and eight dollars a month. I once suggested installing a cartridge filter on the tap in the kitchenette but that idea didn’t get much support. People just seemed to want their water to come out of a plastic jug. I noticed that drinking fountains in public parks (of which there are many, many in and around DC) get turned off in the early fall (Octoberish) often did not get turned back on in the late spring. And many remained off the entire year. This was probably a management or manpower issue. Some might argue that this is an effort by Nestle or PepsiCo or whoever to get more people to buy bottled water, but I don’t see how that could possibly work. In the end this might just be a simple matter of giving the people what they seem to want: their own personal bottled water, obtained at home from their own Brita filters and carried around with them throughout the day. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/28 "2012-10-20T14:57:21Z")
Public water fountains are very common in parks in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/29 "2012-10-20T15:16:38Z")
I went to Egypt on vacation a while ago, and I figured out why they said “don’t drink the water”. Not that it’s contaminated - just that while taking a bath I noticed it smelled like a swimming pool. To ensure there is no bacteria in the water, they over-chlorinate it; considering it likely comes from the Nile (and who knows where that’s been) better safe than sorry. Everyone drinks bottled water. Same I saw in China a few years ago. Except for Hong Kong, the water was full of chlorine and, (I was told) some mineral contaminants. It might have been safe to drink for a short time, it was safe to brush your teeth in, but for real consumption - use bottled water. If the water is not safe to drink, there will be no fountains. In the first world, especially Europe where bottled water (Perrier?) seems to have started, it’s a vicious cycle - people buy water in bottles, so why put expensive unused drinking fountains in? No fountains, and bottled is more convenient easier to find and portable? Rinse and repeat. Same circular feedback problem as to why cellphones mean fewer pay phones. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/30 "2012-10-20T19:42:32Z")
> [@Vicullum](#): > > When I backpacked through most of Europe last year, I noticed in none of the airports, train stations, and bus depots I visited was there a water fountain. Not a single one could be found anywhere, and I was always forced to use the vending machine or drink from the faucet in the (grumble) pay toilets. Similarly, I don’t recall ever seeing one when I visited Brazil and Thailand (though given the state of their municipal water supply, that may have been a blessing). > > Are Americans simply more generous with their water? Why is the rest of the world so stingy? They just seem unhygienic to me, if you mean the ones I’m thinking of. Putting your mouth where tons of other stranger’s mouths have been? And might have spat on? Euh. I’ll just buy a can of juice instead, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/31 "2012-10-20T20:08:21Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > They just seem unhygienic to me, if you mean the ones I’m thinking of. Putting your mouth where tons of other stranger’s mouths have been? And might have spat on? Euh. I’ll just buy a can of juice instead, thanks. Eh? Ideally you’re not supposed to put your mouth on anything. The water comes out in a controlled arc. Lower your head to the apex of the arc and drink. Lips shouldn’t ever touch metal. Now, some Neanderthals probably do wrap their mouth around the metal and suck straight from the faucet, but it’s never been a big concern. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/32 "2012-10-20T20:14:17Z")
Although in India the public water supply is best boiled and filtered, in all the airports I’ve been to water coolers with plastic tumblers have been freely available. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/33 "2012-10-20T21:33:35Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > There are many bottling companies charging large mark ups. The brand Santorini is owned by Pepsi. Coca-Cola sells bottled water under the name Ciel. Bonafont is owned by Danone. Here in Guadalajara a local soft drink producer Aga also sells bottled water. > > Home delivery usually runs about 24 pesos for a 19L garrafón. A few pesos more in stores. The delivery trucks come down the street daily except Sunday so we don’t often take empty bottles to the store. if we miss the delivery truck or run out on the weekend perhaps. > > And municipalities here are required by law to test their water. They check surface water such as rivers and wells for contamination and also are required to test at the treatment planrts. Thanks for your post CBEscapee. I live in the Yucatan Peninsula. Although I have traveled a lot in the Republica, I was incorrect to speak for all of this gran pais. Here I can refill my garrafon for 6 pesos at the business. Here there are no treatment plants. All the sewage goes into septic tanks and leach lines. Therefore the ground water is contaminated. I don’t believe they test the wells for contamination. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/34 "2012-10-20T21:37:36Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > How often do the cockroaches take showers? I believe they shower when I do. Because they come up from the drain in the shower. In an effort to save money, there are not a lot of p-traps in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/35 "2012-10-20T22:20:35Z")
I’ve never seen a drinking fountain in the UK. The idea makes me feel a bit sick, actually. Imagine all the nasty things people could have been using it for. Not hygienic at all. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/36 "2012-10-20T22:24:34Z")
Do you guys who find it unhygienic drink fountain sodas? Or any other machine drink that probably isn’t broken down and cleaned frequently? It’s a similar idea but way worse. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/37 "2012-10-20T22:24:45Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I’ve never seen a drinking fountain in the UK. The idea makes me feel a bit sick, actually. Imagine all the nasty things people could have been using it for. Not hygienic at all. Schools have them. But they’re not necessary as you can get tap water free at any licensed premises, pubs, hotels, restaurants etc. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/38 "2012-10-20T22:24:46Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Thanks for your post CBEscapee. I live in the Yucatan Peninsula. Although I have traveled a lot in the Republica, I was incorrect to speak for all of this gran pais. Here I can refill my garrafon for 6 pesos at the business. Here there are no treatment plants. All the sewage goes into septic tanks and leach lines. Therefore the ground water is contaminated. I don’t believe they test the wells for contamination. Of course there are treatment plants on the Yucatán. Both Yucatán and Quintana Roo have them. They are mandated by law. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/39 "2012-10-20T22:40:26Z")
In Paris, it’s impossible to find fountains in Charles DeGaulle Airport or in the Louvre. But there are some in the parks . . . perfectly potable, though some are intended for dogs. What I do is buy a large bottle when I arrive somewhere, and refill it every morning from my hotel. Never a problem. The best drinking fountain water I’ve found in Europe is near the Karlskirsche in Vienna. Supposedly, the water comes directly from the Alps. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232/40 "2012-10-20T23:07:11Z")
> [@CBEscapee](#): > > Of course there are treatment plants on the Yucatán. Both Yucatán and Quintana Roo have them. They are mandated by law. Well I guess the law is not observed here, because they don’t exist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-public-water-fountains-a-strictly-american-thing/638232.md?page=3)