Following on from last week’s blog about the contamination of Geelong’s public water fountains, this week we learn about the French taking it up to a whole other level.

The Paris City Hall recently confirmed that they are installing free sparkling water fountains all over the city.

Known as ‘Fontaine Pétillante’, the small scale project that started in 2010 has proven to be so popular that they are now taking it city-wide, with 9 new fountains slated to be installed around the city in 2018.

The public sparkling fountains use the same municipal water supply as regular tap fountains but incorporate a CO2 carbonator to add bubbles; essentially like using a Sodastream at home.  The fountain automatically adds the bubbles when the water reaches 6.6ºC to keep the flavour of the water fresh.

As we mentioned last week, we love the idea of access to free public water when out and about, in order to avoid spending money on expensive and environmentally problematic bottled water.

Another bonus for the French is, along with 97% of Western Europe, they adamantly decided against fluoridation of municipal water supplies.

Hopefully as these fountains become used on a daily basis, local councils will ensure regular maintenance to reduce risks of contamination as we have seen in Geelong.  The best way to avoid contamination risks however is to filter the water before consumption as you just never know how safe a public water source may be. The portable 600ml Waterman filter is perfectly designed for that next trip to Paris or pretty much anytime you leave your front door!

 Cheers!