Potential IAQ Problems Associated With Water Fountains

Several problems have been associated with water fountains, including the following:

• Lead: Drinking water may contain lead solder that has been used on copper piping in plumbing facilities. This is especially a problem if the water has been stagnant around this solder. If testing water for lead, the best sample to get would be from a water fountain that has not been used all summer at the beginning of a school year.

• Bacteria: One example is the Legionella bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease in an estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people in the United States every year. These bacteria are found in one-half of the bodies of water in the US, but especially thrive in warm and humid environments. Legionella can survive for several months in a wet environment and multiply in the presence of algae and organic matter.

• Viruses: One example of a virus that one may catch from a water fountain is the rhinovirus. This is what causes the common cold. These viruses must get into the nose where they can infect the nasal membranes. Since cold viruses can live outside of the body for up to several hours, it is possible to get it from a drinking fountain if someone has sneezed on it before you used it.

• Mold: Stagnant water in a fountain can provide a good place for mold and fungi to grow.

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): About 20 percent to 35 percent of the 1.4 million underground storage tanks, such as those that hold gasoline at service stations, have leaks, which makes it possible for groundwater to become contaminated. If the drinking fountain gets its water from a well, it is possible for this contaminated water to be accidentally swallowed.¹

1. Akland GG. Exposure of the general population to gasoline. Environmental Health Perspectives. 1993Dec; 101 Suppl 6:27-32.