5 ms·

It baffles me that a modern developed country has people even needing to question if tap water is safe. In the UK (and I dare say much of Europe) its not at al

• nullcipher 4y ago
  In germany, you have to buy water in all restaurants. This results in purchasing plastic mineral water bottles. Sad state of things.
  • danpalmer 4y ago
    This was a minor point of culture shock coming from the UK. The idea that water is free (at least at the amounts we drink) is so culturally ingrained. It was very noticeable when I passed through Dubai airport and tried to fill up a water bottle. I tried several cafes and all told me they don't do that, I'd have to buy bottled water. I've never been refused that in the UK when asking politely. Ended up finding the water fountains, but I think there was only 1 fountain per terminal, and 2/3 weren't working when I visited.
    • Scoundreller 4y ago
      Had that experience at the Bucharest airport: no fountains at all, but it turns out they’re not on the municipal system and have contaminated wells. But of course, it’s a convenient excuse to sell bottled water. Not impossible to have water delivered for a drinking fountain.
    • SanjayMehta 4y ago
      Dubai airport has all their water fountains one level below the waiting zones, you really have to search for them. And the water tastes salty.
    • ezconnect 4y ago
      In South Korea there's abundance of free water every where you go specially on public buildings and they love filtering their tap water. Compared to Japan they just drink straight from the tap and having water filter is not as common and free water is just common on parks.
• metiscus 4y ago
  The US is a big place and water sources vary widely from place to place. Springs usually have the best tasting water but are relatively rare as municipal water sources. My hometown used a well as a water source and the town to our north used a river. Our water always had a bit of sulfur taste to it (as did my family's private well for agriculture) but the city next to us didn't have that taste. Our city was small and couldn't afford the infrastructure to get the sulfur content down and we didn't have river access. The intended moral of the story is, while I am unfamiliar with the UK I suspect that water distribution is likely far more centralized there as the place is much smaller overall vs the US and more densely populated than most areas in the US. Higher population density means more money to build the facilities to have better tasting water. Plus a centralized administration would result in a more homogeneous quality across the region. Here in the US, each city typically runs its own water system with little to no state involvement other than periodic inspections for standards compliance.
  • blitzar 4y ago
    I wish they would spend some of that money on removing limescale from the water. Hoestly, the savings for the economy in terms of wasted electricity from scaled up kettles and the reduction in chemicals needed to remove the near instant buildup of limescale would be worth it 10 times over.
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• fazfq 4y ago
  In places of the EU, especially close to the sea, tap water fucking sucks. You end up with kidney stones if you drink it every day. Stop romanticising the EU so much for fuck's sake.
  • hjgjhyuhy 4y ago
  • esskay 4y ago
    Chill the heck out, I was very obviously talking about the UK, and parts of Europe, not all of it. We don't all have politicised motivations or a desire to 'one up' continents.
• kibwen 4y ago
  Restaurants in the US do serve tap water, though (and for free, unlike in Europe, proving that these restaurants aren't buying fancy bottled water to serve you). Some places in the US have naturally higher concentrations of sulfur in the ground, which can contribute a "stinky" taste, but usually that's only noticeable if you're drinking from a well on your property rather than from the municipal water supply. Of course, the US is a big place, and this will vary by region.