Paris is going green - by going bubbly. Recently the city open up yet another sparkling water fountain, with more on the way.
Is the water in Paris in good to drink? Often a question we get from guests and the answer is Yes, it is. With so many public drinking fountains throughout the city you can be sure to have fresh water on demand. Yet people still buy bottled water. Paris water just not good enough for them? Everyone knows of the Paris Fountains (the Wallace Fountains), but what's this now about sparkling water? Claire Thomas shares with us a recent step from the city to curb our appetite for the bottled stuff in hopes to decrease our plastic waste. Not half bad. Let's find out more about these Paris Fountains.
This effort may seem just like a gimmick: oh, Paris is too good for normal water fountains, hm? Must have Perrier gushing from the tubes now? But the reason for these Paris fountains is much deeper than that.
In France, each person drinks an average of 40 gallons of bottled water every year (Italy is one of the only places with higher per-capita consumption of sparkling water). Now, let me tell you that there are zero things wrong with Paris tap water. It's delicious. Why there is such a water-bottle-purchasing frenzy in France is beyond me. But as you can guess, 40 gallons of bottled water per person, times 65.4 million people... that's a lot of empty bottles for the trash.
The city is trying to discourage this bottled water obsession by providing fresh, clean, cool -and now sparkling - water at public Paris fountains. I visited the 'eau gazeuse' fountain in the breathtaking Jardin de Reuilly, but you can also find them in the Parc André Citroen and at the Eau de Paris office.
The system is Italian - Tap water from the public pipes is pumped into the Paris fountains, where it is chilled to around 6 degrees C (43 F). The CO2 is introduced into the mix right before the water comes out of the faucet and into your bottle/cup. (Don't worry, I too was sad to learn that it doesn't just spring from the earth sparkling.)
After grabbing a bottle I relaxed on a nearby bench and tried to snap a photo when the Paris fountain wasn't surrounded by people - not an easy feat - and afterwards I explored the park in a water-fed state of relaxation. As a bonus after all that drinking, the park has free public bathrooms (thank goodness).
Whether it's plastic, metal, or glass, don't forget your bottle!
Jardin de Reuilly 75012, entrance on l'avenue Daumesnil
Open during park's opening hours
Eau de Paris office, 19 rue Neuve-Tolbiac 75013
Open all day every day
Parc André Citroën, Quai André Citroën 75015
Open during park's opening hours
3 other fountains to be installed by 2014 :
- Jardin d'Éole (75018): end 2013
- Parc Martin Luther King (75017e): end 2013
- Square Tino Rossi (75005): spring 2014