By Natalie Boutros
Austria and America have many differences, including the way they supply their citizens with water.
Water is needed to provide nutrients for your cells and maintain proper body functioning at a constant rate. It’s versatile and is used for both hygiene and overall body health. When access to water is limited, it can have serious health implications and can put lives at risk.
In Vienna, tap water is drinkable due to strict policies preventing water pollution. As said in an article by AGES. “Comprehensive monitoring — from source to tap — ensures a high level of protection for drinking water supplies in Austria. Drinking water suppliers must have the water they supply tested at regular intervals.”
ou can drink water from any tap you see, whether it’s in the bathroom, kitchen or a restaurant sink. This accessibility to water prevents dehydration and major malnourishment in the capital. It also gives homeless people and people who wouldn’t be able to afford drinkable water in other places to drink with ease.
As you know, tap water here in America is usually not drinkable unless you have a filtered tap in your kitchen. An article by USA Today says that “lead contamination can occur due to aging infrastructure or in older homes where lead pipes, service lines or plumbing fixtures still exist.”
“Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites can also contaminate our drinking water sources, leading to waterborne diseases,” Rianna Murray, the director of the graduate studies department of Global, Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, said.
Though we have access to drinkable water through bottles or filters, it’s difficult for people to easily get access because some may not be able to afford such luxuries.
Water is not only regularly filtered in all tap water, but Vienna provides water fountains and refillable water bottle fountains all throughout the city. As you walk down the sidewalks, you see numerous fountains and stations to refill your water bottles, yet water is something that people can take for granted. Having it accessible is a great way to help those in need.
Since the overall water quality is also better in Vienna, it would lead them to spend less money on bottled water and tap water is provided in most restaurants rather than bottled due to attainability. Ice is also a rarity due to the high expenses of buying machines, finding space to produce it and the temperature in the country.
