THE DEATH OF THE DRINKING FOUNTAIN

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Has anyone else noticed the quiet decline of the drinking fountain?  I see them less and less these days.  I'm guessing they still have them in schools, but where have they gone?  Maybe they're still there, but I just don't look for them.

It seems to me, people are largely afraid of tap water.  Aside from the people that are convinced they need their own personal bottle of fluids that comes from an artesian aquifer that is thousands of miles away from any kind of industrial equipment, chemicals or runoff -- it's not an irrational fear.

Even I'm suspicious of tap water.  Partly because of the rusty brown color it had before the pipes in my apartment building was changed. Admittedly, not the water's fault.  Another reason is the overpowering chlorine smell I get from it.  It just makes me gunshy at the prospect of downing a large glass of it.  There have even been reports that the tap water, though heavily treated, has disturbing levels of anti-depressants in it.  Yes, from when others pee it out.

It's not brown.  It's Prozac.

Come to think of it, that's less worrisome.  Some people need a little lift in their brain chemistry.  

Maybe it's really about money.  In the place of drinking fountains, vending machines have appeared.  They sell a variety of overpriced drinks of which water is usually one.   Why have free water coming out of drinking fountains that break and need to be repaired when you can actually overcharge people for repurposed tap water from somewhere else?

So, you got a choice...

Free and dodgy?

OR

Overpriced and still relatively dodgy.  

Seeing as some people are able to light their tap water on fire, it seems people should have the choice.  All that said, I think the drinking fountain is definitely on the way out.