Before bottled water became popular, there were public drinking fountains where people could quench their thirst.
Drinking fountains were first introduced in the community in the mid-1800s. At the time, this innovation was considered a sign of prestige and abundance since only a few communities could afford one.
This innovation made clean drinking water available for free to people from all walks of life.
Drinking fountains are less widely used today than in past years. According to a Washington Post report, public fountains are in crisis and fading in stadiums, parks, and schools.
In 2015, the International Plumbing Code reduced the number of drinking fountains built inside buildings by half. Indeed, many people are reluctant to use water from these structures because of rumors that they are not maintained well and that the water is polluted.
Also, many people, including the sick, use the public fountain. But do public fountains such as those that can be found in the school pose a risk to your children?
Thus, this article will briefly discuss the history of drinking fountains and possible contaminants. We will also examine their current condition and evaluate whether it is safe for children to drink water from them in schools.
Understanding What is a Drinking Fountain
A drinking fountain is a fountain specially designed to provide drinking water. It has a basin with a tap or running water.
If one wishes to drink from the fountain, he must bend to the water stream and swallow directly.
Modern drinking fountains contain water filters that process and remove impurities from the water. They are also found in public places such as libraries, hospitals, grocery stores, and schools.
Brief History of the Drinking Fountain
London's population began to grow in the mid-19th century, and the water supply was inadequate and usually contaminated.
The legislative branch of the government formed the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, which mandated that water filtration be compulsory. The commission has also advised that water intakes be moved above the sewage outlets, specifically in the Thames.
With this, the revolution of clean drinking water started, and they started building public drinking fountains plus public baths for the people.
The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association was established in 1850. In the same year, Samuel Gurney paid to construct the first drinking fountain on Holborn Hill, Cumbria, on the railings of the church of St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate.
The fountain was used by almost 7,000 people daily and became popular in the area. About 85 more fountains were built the following year, mostly funded by private associations.
Soon, people associated the building of drinking fountains with the temperance movement since it became a substitute for alcohol drinking. They also decided to put the drinking fountains outside the public houses or establishments licensed to sell alcoholic drinks.
Meanwhile, the drinking fountains in the United States were built in 1889 by the Kohler Water Works (now known as the Kohler Company) in Wisconsin.
The original design of the drinking fountain, also known as the ‘Bubbler,’ has one water shot that measures about one inch straight into the air. This creates a bubbling texture and the excess water returns to the nozzle's side areas.
In recent years, the fountain's design has been arc-shaped, allowing people to drink easily. However, at the start of the 20th century, it was found that drinking fountains contain viruses that can affect many people.
What's on the surface?
Besides tap water contaminated with chemicals and bacteria, the fountain is probably covered in germs!
Drinking fountains are breeding places for germs and bacteria. The more individuals interact with the public fountain– the more germs there are if we talk about school or stadium fountains, at least hundreds of adults and children a day!
This includes water refill stations- if your container comes in with the surface, it tends to be contaminated.
Many researchers in daycare centers have discovered that drinking fountains are common carriers of rotavirus, which is known to cause diarrhea.
Researchers have additionally discovered that handles on water fountains were the most contaminated surfaces in public schools. These bubblers are hosts for norovirus and influenza A. The norovirus, known as the stomach flu, causes vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Influenza A can cause high fever, sore throat, chills, and various indications that can even prompt hospitalization.
A report from the CDC states that from 2011–2012, 32 drinking water-related outbreaks were accounted for, representing something like 431 instances of disease, 102 hospitalizations, and 14 deaths.
While all of that is very upsetting, it's genuinely not that surprising. If you are a parent in the public school system, you know the number of germs your child is prone to. This is likely because you have encountered them interacting with no less than one of the illnesses referenced above.
Fear of People on Drinking Fountains
Many parents hesitate to let their children drink water from school fountains.
However, the government monitors most municipal waters in the United States to ensure they are safe and germs-free. The water from your homes' taps, school fountains, and fire hydrants is the same.
This could be due to the fear passed by grandparents and parents to their children/ grandchildren. Some of the older generations experienced the issues of polio in the 1950s.
Since then, Americans have been afraid of public drinking fountains, just as they fear swimming pools and some of their fears make sense.
Spreading of Polio
Polio is a gut virus found in human feces. It can be contracted by digesting even a small amount of feces.
Thus, the threat of drinking water from the fountains and swimming pools is indeed severe.
Children are prone to polio, especially those who can’t control their bowel movements.
Children can also acquire poliovirus from the pools at birthday parties, movie theaters, and other large gatherings. The greatest danger lies in hard surfaces often touched by children, such as the seats, handles of a drinking fountain, and food counters.
Most of the water in the school drinking fountains is free of germs and diseases. However, the bowl can have infectious mucus because some children spit on the fountain before drinking.
Some animal owners even let their pets drink from public fountains, which may transmit germs from pets to humans.
The handle and rim of the drinking fountain can be easily contaminated because hands can touch them.
This is also true for parts of our house and public places that can be touched by hands, such as doorknobs, poles in the subway, and many other places where viruses and bacteria can be transmitted through mucus, cough, or feces.
Legionnaires’ Disease
However, there are occasions when the water itself is unsafe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, some diseases and deaths in America were associated with unclean water in 2011-2012.
Most cases are due to E.coli, giardia, norovirus, and other pathogens. According to the study, these cases were mostly due to the water source from the lakes, springs, and wells near the septic tanks.
This is also true in urban areas with problematic plumbic systems. Although filters run the water source in these cities, bacteria still contaminate it.
Meanwhile, Legionnaires’ disease has become a threat even if the overall drinking water problem has decreased. This is true in the past months when many people have fallen ill and died in New York City due to Legionnaires’ disease.
Legionnaires' disease is caused by legionella bacteria, which grows in warm water, typically about 77 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. It usually grows in hot water tanks, hot tubs, large plumbing systems, and fountains. People near such structures risk inhaling the contaminated water vapor and getting sick from the bacteria.
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe type of pneumonia. Its signs and symptoms include shortness of breath, muscle aches, high fever, and headaches. Also, this disease can be fatal, especially to those who have not been immunized.
Legionnaire bacteria can also grow in school drinking fountains. In 2010, eight patients were affected by the drinking water in the lobby of a hospital in Wisconsin, where the bacteria had grown in the fountain's foam.
Since then, all hospital fountains have been permanently shut down because of the threat they may bring to the patients and their family members.
In New York City, people blame the contaminated cooling towers for the disease outbreak, which allowed the Legionella bacteria to grow.
Is your public water fountain safe?
While drinking water is the ideal way to hydrate, there are a couple of hygienic concerns about traditional public water fountains and tap water in general.
Besides the shot at contacting germs when we're all over town, unfiltered water fountains are connected to more clear dangers.
That is the reason a wide range of facilities are choosing to be proactive and further develop their water system arrangements:
- Schools and Universities
- Healthcare Facilities
- Office Buildings
- Gym/Fitness Centers
- Recreational Parks/Municipalities
Since some water supplies use lead plumbing parts, certain public water fountains are probably unsafe to drink from.
Even though the water treatment plants clean our public tap water, the water at the spout can be contaminated with lead filtered from the old pipes.
In 2018, 56 schools in Central Indiana were found to have raised lead levels in their water fountains. Since our plumbing system is getting older, checking our water quality is a higher priority than ever.
Tap water can quickly carry contaminants through the pipelines to our homes, public fountains, and community schools. Finding lead in your child's water can be terrifying.
However, it's important to check. There are several important ways to protect and keep our drinking water clean. The most common is working on the site with proper point-of-use filtration.
Current Condition of Water from Drinking Fountain
If you have a strong immune system and are healthy, your chance of catching a disease from a drinking fountain is relatively low.
The water used in the public school fountains is the same that comes out of the taps at homes, assuming you are located in a municipal-supplied area. In some instances, it is indeed possible that several water-borne diseases can pass through this water.
An urgent concern of most water supply nowadays is the human-made chemicals that accidentally find their way into the public water supply. Today, more than 116,000 human-made chemicals are found in public water systems. These are pharmaceutical drugs such as pills, tablets, and topicals.
This can be excreted in feces and urine and flushed down in the toilet or drain. Even the standard water treatment process cannot remove many of these problems.
Also, America's old water pipes can become a toxic water source that many people fail to recognize. They can produce copper, lead, and other harmful bacteria in the water.
Therefore, it is best to install a water filter inside your home to ensure a safer source of drinking water for the whole family.
The Safeness of Water in School Drinking Fountain
Thus, your child’s school's drinking fountain may be unsafe. The school pipes may contain lead and sit for long periods during holidays and weekends, allowing contamination in the water.
Some schools get their water source from public supplies and do not have a test for toxins. This may contain harmful contaminants which no one would know about.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, thousands of schools in America, both in urban and rural areas, have contaminated drinking water from fountains with chemicals and other toxins. Some contaminants found are lead, arsenic, copper, and nitrates.
Indeed, the water situation in the United States is alarming, and the risks are apparent, especially regarding your children's drinking water in their schools.
Toxins in the drinking water pose an additional risk to the children. They are more vulnerable to diseases than adults, which can cause grave problems.
In addition to being contaminated by the drinking fountains, the water contains about 62,000 to 2.7 million bacteria in its physical structure.
Bottled Waters versus Drinking Fountains
If these talks about contaminated water from the drinking fountain had you moving to the grocery store and buying all the bottled waters, you could see, wait, but read more. Bottled water is just water from the tap that may not be processed or receive additional treatment.
Some reports indicate that bottled water is less pure than municipal water, as the city has stricter regulations regarding providing clean water for the community.
An independent test conducted by the Environment Working Group revealed at least 38 low-level contaminants in bottled water from ten brands. The water also contains such as industrial chemicals, nitrate, Tylenol, caffeine, arsenic, and other bacteria are in th
When you buy bottled water in stores, the water is not the only thing that is contaminated. Plastic bottles can also seriously threaten users, as their chemicals may leach into the water. Some of them are phthalates and bisphenol-A (BPA).
A study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that about one-third of more than 1,000 bottles tested for purity contain bacteria, arsenic, and other chemicals.
Furthermore, big companies bottle their water from nearby lakes and streams and make rivers mudflats. The lake's water levels have dropped tremendously, and sinkholes appear near the bottling plants.
Most of these big companies do not pay or contribute anything to the destruction of the environment. Some of them don’t even pay their correct taxes. And yet, they make $1.8 million in profits per day or more.
Water bottles are not the answer to your unclean water issue. Using bottled water contributes to environmental destruction and allows corporations to profit more from their businesses.
What Can Be Done?
The ideal and only way to determine what is in your water is to have it tested. Water testing agencies nationwide can provide an expert evaluation of your facility’s water and tell you if there are any dangers or toxins you should consider.
If you are ready to have your water tested, the EPA has made finding a water testing organization in your area simple. It is best practice to have your water tested at least once a year. It would help if you likewise had it tested if you or another facility close to you is under construction, as this might slack debris from the pipes and transport it into your drinking water.
Additional DIY water testing kits are available. If you need a speedy and easy way to sample the contamination, you might want to check them out.
While these are not viable alternatives for expert evaluation, they can give you an idea of how many bacteria are in that water cooler in the break room.
Clean for Clean Water
- Water fountains—particularly those in facilities with children should be cleaned at least once daily.
- The fountain surface, including the mouthpiece, protective guard, basin, and handles, should be disinfected and cleaned with a clean, damp cloth.
- Advise people who use your water fountains to let the water run for a few seconds before drinking. This can help flush out some of the bacteria before they consume it.
Conclusion
The water from the school drinking fountain is not 100% safe because of various factors. The structure can harbor viruses, and the pipes can contaminate the water.
Furthermore, children's immune systems are weak and prone to water-borne diseases.
If you don't want your kids to drink from the public fountain and don’t want to waste money on bottled water, a simple solution is to allow them to bring their reusable water bottle with a filter, such as the Sport Berkey Water Bottle.
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