Make Public Drinking Water Fountains Great Again.
This cost may increase somewhat depending on the purchase, installation, and maintenance costs for each drinking fountain, but it remains far cheaper than the cost of bottled water, which typically ranges from $1 to $5 per gallon, or about 200 to 1,000 times more than tap water.
(High-end bottled waters can be even far more costly.)
Drinking fountains located outside will need to include features to help weather the elements, such as exposed aggregate finishes to prevent corrosion.
The cost of a bottle filling station can range from as low as $500 per unit for a retrofit kit (an attachment) to over $1,700 for a standalone freestanding model.
The cost of carbon filters ranges from $90 to $160 per unit, depending on filtration capacity and effectiveness, and filters must be replaced according to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, typically once or more each year depending on use.
In addition to carbon filters, reverse osmosis (RO) is an advanced filtration process that is also used by desalination plants.
Since filters add to the cost of water fountains, water quality tests should be done before making any filter investments to both ensure that filters are needed and to identify the most appropriate type of filter to install.
More effort is needed to improve access to affordable and safe drinking water at the national, state, and local levels.
As we move toward better public drinking water access, whether installing new fountains or replacing old ones, we should strive to use the most appropriate fountain designs in order to effectively provide high quality and affordable tap water to all who need it.