Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke wants to oblige German cities and municipalities to set up new drinking water fountains.
Citizens should be able to obtain water more easily when they are on the move, as well as fill up with free water for domestic use. A corresponding bill by the Green politician passed the federal cabinet on Wednesday. "Access to drinking water must be as easy as possible for all people in Germany," Lemke said.
The bill provides for municipalities to set up drinking water fountains in parks, pedestrian zones and shopping arcades, for example - as long as this is technically feasible and meets local needs.
As a first step, cities and municipalities are to set up about 1,000 additional fountains, the ministry said. There are already more than 1,300 public drinking water fountains across the country.
"The recent dry and hot summers have shown us that persistent heat waves are no longer a rare event in Germany," Lemke said. Drinking fountains with tap water are one of the basic components of good public health in these circumstances, she added.
"If municipalities take action now, they will make an important contribution to protecting the health of citizens," Lemke said. "Tap water is a controlled foodstuff, it saves energy and is provided without packaging at the drinking fountain - so the environment also benefits."
The ministry spokesperson described the fact that people can tap water at drinking fountains with bottles they have brought along as a positive "side effect".
The fountains are to become a standard part of the public water supply in future and obligatory for local authorities, but there will be a degree of flexibility. A target for how many there should be in Germany is not practical, the spokesperson said. Cities and municipalities should be able to take into account where new standpipes are actually needed.
There are already many civil-society initiatives, for example, that advocate the free distribution of drinking water in restaurants.
According to the spokesperson, citizens do not have to worry about a current drinking water shortage in view of falling water levels and the current drought.
"It is not a groundwater problem," he said, adding that 95 per cent of groundwater reserves - that is, the individual sections of groundwater - are in good condition.
The measure will now have to be passed by the German parliament before it becomes law.
