A passer-by fills his drinking bottle with water at a Berliner Wasserbetriebe fountain, a so-called "refill station". It is available almost everywhere, costs hardly anything and the quality is right. Photo Credit: picture alliance via Getty Images
EnvironmentSociety GermanyMore Water for Everyone: This Country Doubles up on Its Drinking Fountains
Germany is installing more drinking fountains so that water is freely available in as many public spaces as possible in an effort to prevent citizens from suffering from heat exhaustion.
“Access to drinking water must be as easy as possible for everyone in Germany,” says Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. “Drinking fountains with tap water are one of the basic building blocks of good heat prevention.”
At the moment, there are some 1,300 public water fountains, and an additional 1,000 will be installed. Furthermore, since water is provided without packaging, installing fountains is good for the environment. Cities will have complete authority to choose the location, the number, and the type of fountain to install. The momentum was set in place during the reform of the Drinking Water Directive adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2020, in which the Member States agreed to provide better access to water in public places as well as higher quality drinking water overall.
