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Tap water here in the Netherlands is excellent, and I’d much prefer it over bottled water, but that’s only available in places where you’d take your jacket off:

Tap water here in the Netherlands is excellent, and I’d much prefer it over bottled water, but that’s only available in places where you’d take your jacket off: home, friends, work, school, hairdresser and the likes. If you’re going somewhere you can bring water or buy water in bottles, but I’ve never seen other ways of getting water.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago
That's one thing that's changed since my childhood. As a kid, here in the UK, most schools, public buildings and towns (in the street) had drinking fountains. Most town centres, shopping areas, tourist spots etc had them. Quite often they had a way to fill a bottle too. In the eighties they died out, and you'll rarely to never see one today. Why? They certainly weren't unsafe. Bottled water producers seem to have managed to put people off our overwhelmingly safe tap water and drinking fountains. Now tap is seen as second rate somehow. Put in a vending machine instead, etc. Drinking fountains in schools and streets are long gone. So now everyone can buy a Coke or bottled water, complete with single use plastic, and we mistakenly call that progress. The same people seem fine using tap water for tea, ice, juice etc. Yet another bit of progress that baffles me. :)
- iamphilrae 7y ago
  I remember mentioning this in a comment thread on Instagram. One response came from someone in the UK who said something along the lines of... “It has been scientifically proven that our water contains high concentrations of cocaine, heroin and other drugs. That’s why I will only drink bottled water.” facepalm I remember in the 80’s when travelling to Europe, whether you could drink the tap water was always a question to ask at the start of the holiday. 30 years later, we are now questioning our own tap water even though the rest of the EU and America have caught up, with water quality that is on par with anything that could be purchased in a bottle.
- mrguyorama 7y ago
  Here in a small American city, fountains are seemingly coming back into vogue
apexalpha 7y ago
>Tap water here in the Netherlands is excellent, and I’d much prefer it over bottled water Tap water and bottled water in Utrecht are pumped from EXACTLY the same source. :)
- chronogram 7y ago
  Oh really? No wonder the bottled water is so good ;-)

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

That's one thing that's changed since my childhood. As a kid, here in the UK, most schools, public buildings and towns (in the street) had drinking fountains. Most town centres, shopping areas, tourist spots etc had them. Quite often they had a way to fill a bottle too. In the eighties they died out, and you'll rarely to never see one today. Why? They certainly weren't unsafe. Bottled water producers seem to have managed to put people off our overwhelmingly safe tap water and drinking fountains. Now tap is seen as second rate somehow. Put in a vending machine instead, etc. Drinking fountains in schools and streets are long gone. So now everyone can buy a Coke or bottled water, complete with single use plastic, and we mistakenly call that progress. The same people seem fine using tap water for tea, ice, juice etc. Yet another bit of progress that baffles me. :)

iamphilrae 7y ago
I remember mentioning this in a comment thread on Instagram. One response came from someone in the UK who said something along the lines of... “It has been scientifically proven that our water contains high concentrations of cocaine, heroin and other drugs. That’s why I will only drink bottled water.” facepalm I remember in the 80’s when travelling to Europe, whether you could drink the tap water was always a question to ask at the start of the holiday. 30 years later, we are now questioning our own tap water even though the rest of the EU and America have caught up, with water quality that is on par with anything that could be purchased in a bottle.
mrguyorama 7y ago
Here in a small American city, fountains are seemingly coming back into vogue

apexalpha 7y ago

>Tap water here in the Netherlands is excellent, and I’d much prefer it over bottled water Tap water and bottled water in Utrecht are pumped from EXACTLY the same source. :)

chronogram 7y ago
Oh really? No wonder the bottled water is so good ;-)