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We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

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Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#151

Post by chobo »

MrJagil wrote: post #146
jberryman wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I understand the difficulty of maintaining such a large water distribution net 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.

I really disagree. Coming from Denmark, having lived in NYC for 6 months, it was exactly as the parent described it: As if drinking out of a swimming pool. Further, even the salads at restaurants could taste terrible because of the water they used to rinse it.

Funny you should say that. I'm in NYC and I like the tap water. When I travel--like to Texas recently--I can't drink the tap water, it tastes horrible to me. And New Yorkers take a lot of pride in our water actually, it tastes hugely different from most of the rest of the country. Goes to show how personal taste is I guess.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#152

Post by peteri »

gutnor wrote: post #124
Nadya wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>unless you have a cup or something and don't mind drinking from the bathroom faucets. 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.

That's making a lot of assumptions about the plumbing. Especially considering that a lot of public toilets and even hotel indicate that water from the tap is not safe. 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 directl…

This is getting less common in the UK, usually when a new combi boiler is installed the tank is removed / uninstalled.

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.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#153

Post by Grazester »

jberryman wrote: post #143
teekert wrote: post #106

I always drink tap water here in the Netherlands, in the US where I have been (Houston, New Orleans, Boston, Long Beach) the water just tastes like it came from a swimming pool. So much chlorine, I couldn't drink it. In San Fransisco it was relatively ok though, still a faint chlorine taste but drinkable. I understand the difficulty of maintaining such a large water distribution net but I certainly switch to bottled…

> I understand the difficulty of maintaining such a large water distribution net 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.

Yep NYC's water is pretty good!

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#154

Post by sarnu »

pluma wrote: post #123
provemewrong wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can selling water at a commercial establishment be illegal? Bottled water industry would be out of business, as some of them are known to resell tap water too. I'm from Europe too, by the way, and don't see the big deal. I'd say around here it's pretty split - around a half of places will offer free water, and a half will offer it for money (not for beer prices though).

I don't know about the rest of Europe, but in Germany bars have to provide free tap water if you ask for it. They also have to offer at least one non-alcoholic drink that's cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic drink, IIRC.

> but in Germany bars have to provide free tap water if you ask for it.

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.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#155

Post by skriticos2 »

Tap-water is very much a hit-or-miss here in Germany. In some cities (like Berlin) it's almost hazardous, while in other cities it's very drinkable. The tubes the water passes also make a big difference (there are still lot's of lead tubes lying around in old houses).

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.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#156

Post by qznc »

WalterBright wrote: post #67
NhanH wrote: post #2

When I first came to US, I didn't mind drinking public fountain. But one day, I walked by one and a dog was drinking from it, licking all over it in the process. From that day onward, I stopped. 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?

Evolution of parents: 1. First baby - pacifier gets sterilized between uses 2. Second baby - pacifier goes through dishwasher between uses 3. Third baby - pacifier held out so dog can lick it clean between uses

No dog and no third baby. However, we went through the first two steps exactly like that.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#157

Post by Xylakant »

skriticos2 wrote: post #155

Tap-water is very much a hit-or-miss here in Germany. In some cities (like Berlin) it's almost hazardous, while in other cities it's very drinkable. The tubes the water passes also make a big difference (there are still lot's of lead tubes lying around in old houses). 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 part…

> Tap-water is very much a hit-or-miss here in Germany. In some cities (like Berlin) it's almost hazardous, while in other cities it's very drinkable.

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

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#158

Post by thisjepisje »

JupiterMoon wrote: post #114
teekert wrote: post #106

I always drink tap water here in the Netherlands, in the US where I have been (Houston, New Orleans, Boston, Long Beach) the water just tastes like it came from a swimming pool. So much chlorine, I couldn't drink it. In San Fransisco it was relatively ok though, still a faint chlorine taste but drinkable. I understand the difficulty of maintaining such a large water distribution net but I certainly switch to bottled…

> 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). Wow in most of Europe this would not be legal. Are you sure your local laws allow this?

What I encounter in Dutch restaurants is that they give you (sometimes ridiculously expensive) bottled water when you ask for 'water', and when you ask for 'tap water' they say they only serve bottled water.

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#159

Post by elros »

skriticos2 wrote: post #155

Tap-water is very much a hit-or-miss here in Germany. In some cities (like Berlin) it's almost hazardous, while in other cities it's very drinkable. The tubes the water passes also make a big difference (there are still lot's of lead tubes lying around in old houses). 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 part…

> In some cities (like Berlin) it's almost hazardous, while in other cities it's very drinkable.

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?

Re: We don’t trust drinking fountains anymore, and that’s bad for our health

#160

Post by DonHopkins »

teekert wrote: post #106

I always drink tap water here in the Netherlands, in the US where I have been (Houston, New Orleans, Boston, Long Beach) the water just tastes like it came from a swimming pool. So much chlorine, I couldn't drink it. In San Fransisco it was relatively ok though, still a faint chlorine taste but drinkable. I understand the difficulty of maintaining such a large water distribution net but I certainly switch to bottled…

San Francisco has uniquely excellent tap water, from pristine snowmelt in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park on the Tuolumne River.

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.

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