City water fountains were first designed in the late 1850s and since then have been redesigned and placed in more and more public spaces to give people safe drinking water. Where drinking water fountains are placed is important and that water in Chicago safe to drink is also an important factor.
A brief understanding of the history of water fountains
The temperance movement is what pushed for drinking water fountains around cities across America including Chicago. The idea was to promote drinking water and to abstinent from alcohol. When prohibition started in the 1920s drinking water fountains became even more popular. After that, this continued to grow and more were installed.
Finding safe drinking water
You should be able to find water in Chicago, safe to drink in a variety of different public places. Since the pandemic though more concern arises over drinking from shared mouth spouts so more fountains have bottle fillers now. These public places include;
- Retail locations such as grocery stores and malls
- Office buildings
- Government buildings
- Medical offices and hospitals
- Education centers and schools
- Motels and hotels
- Apartment buildings
- Parks
Why drinking water fountains are important in cities
People remaining hydrated is important. It keeps them out of hospitals which costs more than giving them a place to drink water in Chicago, safe to drink. Rather than people drinking beverages like sodas or coffees that are full of fat, sugar and calories, water is healthy and better at hydrating people than the alternatives. As well as the benefits to individuals living in the city there are other reasons why importance should be place and accessible drinking water fountains in public places. They include;
- It is a lot better for the environment to have safe and clean water that everyone can access than people using bottled water. There are about 38 billion plastic water bottles making it to landfills every year. With more people switching to fountains and reusable containers that number could be reduced dramatically.
- A great feature about drinking water fountains is that they cannot be left running, when the lever is not being held the water stops. Using taps in homes or businesses, the water is often left running for too long and that is a waste of a natural resource that is valuable.
- It is actually the law to have drinking fountains in certain places. These include local, state and federal laws. As well as the free and safe water being available it should be somewhere that everyone can access including people with disabilities and small children.
Summary
There are a number of places around the city that should have safe drinking water that anyone can access to take advantage of. With more concerns over shared mouth spouts, a lot should also be moving towards the type where you can refill a container or water bottle so you can drink safely from that. If you are looking just ask at any of the types of places mentioned above and they should be able to direct you to the nearest place with water in Chicago, safe to drink.