Before potable water was provided in private homes, water for drinking was made available to citizens of cities through access to public fountains. Many of these early public drinking fountains can still be seen (and used) in cities such as Rome, with its many
fontanelle and
nasoni (big noses). ''
Nepal In Nepal there were public drinking fountains at least as early as 550 AD. They are called
dhunge dharas or
hitis. They consist of carved stone spouts through which water flows uninterrupted from underground sources. They are found extensively in Nepal and some of them are still operational. Many people of Nepal rely on them for their daily water supply. The
tutedhara or
jahru is another type of old drinking fountain found in Nepal. This is a stone container that can be filled with water and has a tap that can be opened and closed. The oldest of these is dated 530 AD. Very few jahrus are in use today, but the remnants can be found in many places.
United Kingdom In mid-19th century
London, when water provision from private
water companies was generally inadequate for the rapidly growing population and was often contaminated, a new law created the
Metropolitan Commission of Sewers, made water filtration compulsory, and moved water intakes on the
Thames above the sewage outlets. In this context, the public drinking fountain movement began. It built the first public baths and public drinking fountains. In 1859 the
Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association was established. The first fountain was built on Holborn Hill on the railings of the church of
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate on Snow Hill, paid for by Samuel Gurney, and opened on 21 April 1859. The fountain became immediately popular, and was used by 7,000 people a day. In the next six years 85 fountains were built, with much of the funding coming directly from the association. The provision of drinking fountains in the United Kingdom soon became linked to the
temperance movement; the same association in London drew support from temperance advocates. Many of its fountains were sited opposite
public houses. The evangelical movement was encouraged to build fountains in churchyards to encourage the poor to see churches as supporting them. Many fountains have inscriptions such as "Jesus said whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again but whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give him shall never thirst". By 1877, the association was widely accepted and
Queen Victoria donated money for a fountain in
Esher. Many fountains, within London and outside, were called temperance fountains or would have a representation of the Greek mythical figure
Temperance.
United States , 1939. Muddied and bad tasting drinking water encouraged many Americans to drink alcohol for health purposes, so
temperance groups constructed
public drinking fountains throughout the United States following the Civil War. The National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union (NWCTU)'s organizing convention of 1874 encouraged its attendees to erect the fountains in their hometowns, as a means to discourage people from drinking in saloons. They sponsored temperance fountains in towns and cities across the United States. The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, founded in 1866, expressed concern about the difficulty of finding fresh water for work horses in urban areas. Combined drinking fountains with a bubbler for people, a water trough for horses and sometimes a lower basin for dogs, became popular. In particular, over 120
National Humane Alliance fountains were donated to communities across the United States between 1903 and 1913. The original 'Bubbler' shot water one inch straight into the air, and the excess water ran back down over the sides of the nozzle. During World War I, company founder Halsey W. Taylor invented the "Double Bubbler" drinking fountain. This fountain dispensed two streams of water in an arc. Several years later the Bubbler adopted this more sanitary arc projection, which also allowed the user to drink more easily from it. At the start of the 20th century, it was discovered that the original vertical design was related to the spread of
contagious diseases. In the United States, segregation of public facilities including but not limited to water fountains due to race, color, religion, or national origin was abolished by the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prior to this, racially segregated water fountains with those for black people in worse condition than those for white people were common. ==Cleanliness==