Public fountains = public health

The expansion and investment in the system of public fountains represents an important public health intervention in the framework of immediate adaptation to climate change and disasters.

It is written by Dr. Aleksandar Stevanović, assistant at the Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade

Climate change is the cause of increasingly frequent extreme temperatures, resulting in significant human losses. In the summer of 2003 alone, excess mortality of over 70,000 people was recorded in Europe (1). When looking at average annual temperatures, an upward trend over the last two decades is evident: the last 8 years were the warmest by average temperature on record (since 1880), and 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record (2). If we know that Serbia is located in an area that is extremely vulnerable to droughts, we must do everything to protect the health of the population and ensure the human right to clean drinking water.

Extreme heat has a negative effect on our health, especially in conditions of high air humidity and intense physical activity. Vulnerable groups are the elderly, people with chronic diseases and children. Heatstroke affects several organ systems, and the cardiovascular and nervous systems are the first to be exposed. If cooling is not done quickly, the consequences can be serious, including coma and death (3).

A team of scientists analyzed mortality in Europe during the year 2022 by crossing data on mortality and average air temperatures. The time period from 2015 to 2022 was covered in order to analyze as precisely as possible, as well as the distribution of data by gender and age groups. The models showed that during the summer of 2022, more than 61,000 deaths in Europe were caused by high temperatures. In the same way, the estimated number of deaths due to high temperatures in Serbia is 574 (4).

The most important recommendations for protection against sunstroke and heat stroke include regular cooling and sufficient fluid intake, primarily water. Unfortunately, the accessibility of safe drinking water from public taps is a challenge. For example, according to the data of the City Public Health Institute of Belgrade – on the territory of the capital “there are more than 180 taps with drinking water from the distribution network of the Belgrade water supply (processed, purified, chlorinated water).” The results of the last census show that Belgrade has 1,685,563 inhabitants, so it would a roughly estimated number of inhabitants per public fountain amounted to more than 9,300. As the majority of public fountains are located in the city center, it is clear that there are significant inequalities in the accessibility of drinking water from public fountains in different parts of Belgrade (5). The city of Niš can boast of only 17 public fountains, which brings us to a figure of as many as 14,676 inhabitants per fountain. The situation is not much better in other local self-governments in Serbia, water is not available in public spaces but is increasingly bought in plastic packaging, which makes it a commodity and not a human right. Those who do not have money to buy water are endangering their health.

Public fountains are a free and affordable source of drinking water, which is especially important during the summer months when cooling and fluid intake are of the greatest importance in preventing sunstroke and heat stroke. Using water from public taps reduces the use of bottled water, as well as plastic that pollutes the environment.

Since our cities and municipalities lack public green and blue areas that would serve as places to rest and cool down, maintaining and expanding the network of public fountains is the fastest way to reduce the negative consequences of high temperatures. That is why we appeal to institutions at the national and local level to take this problem seriously and provide the necessary infrastructure in time so that every resident of Serbia has the right to water.

Main messages:

  • Access to safe drinking water is a basic human right and is a prerequisite for physical, mental and social well-being.
  • Public water fountains that are available and accessible to people during the summer months reduce the risk of negative consequences of high temperatures and heat waves.
  • The availability of public fountains implies that public fountains are evenly distributed throughout the city – especially in municipalities with a high population density, poor communities and/or informal settlements.
  • The accessibility of public fountains means that public fountains are easy to use and by design acceptable to all categories of the population, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
  • The quality of drinking water at public fountains is the responsibility of the local self-government, that is, PUK Vodovod i Kanalizacija. Regular monitoring of the correctness and quality of drinking water is carried out by competent public health institutes. During the summer months, it is necessary to monitor the fountains themselves and their surroundings in terms of hygienic correctness.
  • It is necessary to rehabilitate old and build new public fountains according to pre-determined priorities. New public fountains should use innovative design in order to achieve and maintain the microbiological and physical-chemical correctness of water as easily as possible, reduce the possibility of accidental contamination, enhance water saving and preserve the environment.

References:

  1. Robine, JM, Cheung, SL, Le Roy, S., Van Oyen, H., Griffiths, C., Michel, JP, & Herrmann, FR (2008). Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003. Comptes rendus biologies, 331(2), 171–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2007.12.001
  2. European State of the Climate. Copernicus https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2022
  3. Székely, M., Carletto, L., & Garami, A. (2015). The pathophysiology of heat exposure. Temperatures (Austin, Tex.), 2(4), 452. https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2015.1051207
  4. Ballester, J., Quijal-Zamorano, M., Méndez Turrubiates, RF, Pegenaute, F., Herrmann, FR, Robine, JM, Basagaña, X., Tonne, C., Antó, JM, & Achebak, H. (2023). Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022. Nature medicine, 10.1038/s41591-023-02419-z. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02419-z
  5. Belgrade Waterworks and Sewerage. List of public city fountains according to the maintenance program for 2023. Accessed from: https://www.bvk.rs/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/spisak-cesme-maj-2023-min.pdf