Drinking Fountains Have All but Disappeared From Israel’s Streets.
Drinking fountains have all but disappeared from the Israeli street.
When asked, the Health Ministry said that while there are standards for installing and maintaining public fountains, there is no requirement to actually have them.
Israel is not alone when it comes to the gradual disappearance of public drinking fountains.
Who drinks from that?
They invented a new business of water consumption while piggybacking on the health trend,” Halevy Bar says.
“Through clever branding, companies have created demand for a natural resource that already exists in the faucet.” Moreover, they sell this free product in plastic bottles that are causing global contamination.
Yuval Arica, owner of faucet manufacturer Shaham-Arica, says government bodies buy between 1,000 and 2,000 water fountains a year, some for parks, most for schools, where fountains are a rule (one per every 40 pupils).
In other words, for the price of one fancy decorative fountain, a city could install 150 regular drinking fountains.
Local governments really should provide their citizens with free drinking water outside, Zaum says: At the very least, water is healthier than sugary drinks.