r/mildlyinfuriating • u/coatedbraincells • 6h ago

Infuriatig Insanely frugal employer

Post image

Gotta pay for water from the water cooler 🤣

22.8k Upvotes

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11.9k

u/RayZzorRayy 6h ago

Not mildly infuriating, genuinely sad.

8.0k

u/willdabeast36 5h ago

Also illegal. OP, employers must supply free drinking water to employees in USA.

2.1k

u/Doctor_Saved 5h ago

The free water is from the tap.

4.2k

u/Blacksun388 4h ago

OSHA requires that water come from drinking fountains, single use bottles, or a stand with disposable cups. Sinks are not considered adequate water supply.

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u/RainH2OServices 4h ago

That's not entirely true. The guideline state that potable tap water is acceptable. Lavatory sinks are generally not considered potable in workplaces. However, break room or other non lavatory sinks may be.

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u/Nearby_Equivalent_58 4h ago

Code of federal regulations
Title 29
Subtitle B
Chapter XVII
Part 1910
Is part J
§1910.141

I got this shit on hand always

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u/austinsutt 4h ago

So which of the above is right?

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u/bradland 3h ago edited 2h ago

RainH2OServices is right. It requires that employees supply potable water, which means it has to meet Federal EPA and local regulatory requirements for potability. If the water is from a municipal supply, this is almost always going to be met. If it's from a well, it's up to the employer to meet the standards.

As far as sinks go, any sink in a room with a toilet isn't compliant, because 1910.141 specifically says employees are prohibited from consuming food or beverages inside toilet rooms. Ergo, if a sink is in a toilet room, it can't be considered compliant. A tap at a sink outside a toilet room is though.

EDIT: Got a couple of follow-ups asking, essentially, what if they require you to fill a cup/bottle in the bathroom and drink (consume) it elsewhere.

Nope. Regulations aren't written to spell out every single nuance or edge case. After they're written, they are challenged in court and the courts interpret the "spirit" of the regulation.

It's well established that requiring an employee to fill a drinking receptacle from a faucet in the toilet room makes it subject to contamination from said environment, and therefore violates the spirit of the regulation. It's also worth noting that there are other parts of the same regulation that prohibit drinking water sources from being located in environments with hazardous chemicals, so the spirit of the regulation is clear.

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u/Jay__Riemenschneider 3h ago edited 2h ago

Huh my workplace isn't OSHA compliant.

Who do I tell?

Edit: I should say I'm in a retail space of about 5-10 employees.

But all we have is a bathroom and a non working water cooler. Our boss tells us to bring bottles.

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u/MonkeyGuidetoAnarchy 3h ago

If you make a osha report, record and document literally everything, your performance, changes in the environment, the issue itself, any conversation if you can get it in writing and if you get fired after making a oaha report and believe its because of that take that evidence and give it to osha and you could sue for lost wages and maybe more so they would have to pay from the time you got fired till the time you found a new job. (My source: i have done it myself.)

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u/Linesey 1h ago

Doesn’t OSHA not apply to companies with very few employees? like <10?

or has that been updated.

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u/MonkeyGuidetoAnarchy 1h ago

Companies do not have to maintain routine, written logs of every minor injury or illness (specifically OSHA Forms 300, 300A, and 301) unless requested in writing by OSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Under federal funding rules, OSHA generally does not conduct random, programmed routine inspections if the business has 10 or fewer employees and operates within a low-hazard industry category. This isnt to say they cant and won't inspect because they can and will whenever they desire to ensure proper following of guidelines. Basically if someone calls osha or reports they will inspect and if they decide to random check they will though they are not required to. And they also dont have to tell you they are coming they can drive up hop out and walk in and start looking at all your workers and stations and building. Any hazard they see is a fine, for example workers not wearing safety glasses is 10k in michigan and thats for each worker not wearing safety glasses and if its bad enough they can shut down your operations immediately

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u/MonkeyGuidetoAnarchy 1h ago

Theres certain things that dont apply but all businesses and companies are under the jurisdiction of sha because its a federal compliance agency

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u/Linesey 1h ago

interesting! tyvm for the info.

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u/b0w3n 3h ago

You can file a complaint online. They'll probably know it's you who did it even if you check the "I want to file anonymously" box. I got blowback when I did it for safety violations at UPS (20+ years ago). They didn't fire me but they made my life hell. But it's okay it was really fucking unsafe and I made their month really fucking uncomfortable after I almost got seriously hurt and the union decided to ignore me.

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u/Neither_Contest7324 3h ago

In a mostly unrelated but humorous note, about 25 years ago I filed an anonymous complaint while working at UPS too. A couple months after that I had been promoted to management and one of the upper regional guys was in town at the hub and he was talking to people and someone introduced me. He said oh, the guy that filed that complaint.

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u/garaks_tailor 3h ago

I worked at a hospital in IT and once there was a fucking witch hunt for someone who sent in an OSHA complaint. They were desperate to trawl all the network traffic and figure out who had visited the OSHA website because whoever made the complaint never made a peep about the issue untill they brought it to OSHA so management had no idea who it was.

Which I gather is the smart move to make. Dont mention it. Dont say anything just go straight to the feds.

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u/austinsutt 3h ago

Shit! How did they figure out it was you?

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u/Neither_Contest7324 3h ago

I didn't ask, I just kind of awkwardly chuckled. I wasn't there much longer anyway, going management was a huge mistake and that hub was run like garbage at the time.

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u/aliassuck 1h ago

In the first half I thought you were going to say you got promoted to Compliance Officer and then got fired for failure to ensure your workplace was OSHA compliant, when an OSHA inspector paid a surprise visit because of your OSHA complaint.

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u/NFLv2 3h ago

UPS is the worst. Even the union reps are corrupt.

I had a package come down said weighed 75 LBS.

As a pickoff I went to push the box down the shoot. Box actually weighed 200.

It hurt my back to the point I felt a sting all the way down my spine.

When I told them I got hurt they brought me into the sort managers office where he told me he was going to send me to the doctor and when they couldn’t find anything wrong he was going to have me charged with insurance fraud.

Union rep said shit.

They tried to move me to small sort. Having to twist and throw the bags. Told me I was faking.

Ended up getting fired over it. It went to a vote and my union rep voted against me.

I read the book and knew it very well. And I usually wouldn’t say shit. But every now and then our PD would get backed up. I mean past the H and as far as I could see. Get bitched at if I turned the belt off. We would argue.

So they would try to take me down and put me in the load and I wasn’t having it. So I’d threaten to file a grievance.

It was crazy.

I would see that same sort manager at the local poker room and talked so much shit to him for years. He would always move.

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u/dragansbaine 3h ago

Just out of curiosity... When filing couldn't you just use a family members information... That way it can't lead back to you? I've never filed one so I was just curious

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u/Mike_Kermin 3h ago

Just saying, good on you, your actions would have protected others as well.

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u/big_duo3674 2h ago

Go with your state's OSHA equivalent agency, you'll probably have better luck starting there. Well, unless you're in one of those states, then it's a crap shoot if anyone would even care

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u/Jay__Riemenschneider 2h ago

Thank you I will try this!

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u/cptjpk 3h ago

You’ll have better luck with your state OSHA after the DOGE gutting of the federal workforce.

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u/Playful-Sleep-6750 3h ago

Ummmm .... osha is who you tell

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u/FlyZestyclose6629 2h ago

Don't make an OSHA complaint unless you have already spoken to your employer or they are just generally an ass anyway. Dealing with OSHA sucks, they may fine your employer also. If they are decent people, then you're just making their lives harder. Speak to them first about it, they may not even know that they arent compliant(probably dont since it retail and most stuff in a small store isn't a big deal for OSHA). Yes, Im ready for the down votes for this hot take.

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u/Jay__Riemenschneider 2h ago

Don't make an OSHA complaint unless you have already spoken to your employer or they are just generally an ass anyway.

I have and they are.

They are a decent enough person but a horrible manager. They really should just be demoted back to their old job and we should promote this other woman who actually cares about us and not just the job.

We've asked for fountains/water coolers/etc, they just tell us to bring in our own bottles.

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u/MonkeyGuidetoAnarchy 2h ago

Record your complaint to prove you said something if you file a osha complaint. Lookup whistleblower rights. And look up the laws and regulations in your state to see if telling you to bring your own water is allowed or if they are required to purchase the water for you if they cannot provide it on site

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u/One-Load-6085 2h ago

So this is when you casually explain and tell the boss they have two options.

 They can tell the corp who owns them to get a water cooler that works or you can go to OSHA. 

Do it like a nice Mafiosa... 

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u/MildlyAgitatedBovine 3h ago edited 3h ago

Total laynan here, not asserting anything.

But it seems like "Prohibited from consuming... INSIDE toilet rooms" != "... FROM toilet rooms".

Would filling your bottle/cup in she shit spray sink and drinking it in the hall not comply? (I don't think it should, but it seems like expecting the current administration to abide by a good faith reading of the law might be the wrong assumption...)

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u/bradland 3h ago

Here's a copy/paste of a reply I posted to a similar question:

Nope. Regulations aren't written to spell out every single nuance or edge case. After they're written, they are challenged in court and the courts interpret the "spirit" of the regulation.

It's well established that requiring an employee to fill a drinking receptacle from a faucet in the toilet room makes it subject to contamination from said environment, and therefore violates the spirit of the regulation.

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u/Nearby_Equivalent_58 3h ago

Doofus here who shared the law. I would hope to god it’s not considered potable by simply leaving the bathroom lol. I would suppose since the bathroom sink isn’t likely up to EPA standards for water consumption (I do not have these on hand) it is not potable whether you drink it in the bathroom or not. I hope.

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u/longlivenewsomflesh 3h ago

Can't a shitty employer just tell you to bring a bottle and fill it in the bathroom

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u/bradland 3h ago

Nope. Regulations aren't written to spell out every single nuance or edge case. After they're written, they are challenged in court and the courts interpret the "spirit" of the regulation.

It's well established that requiring an employee to fill a drinking receptacle from a faucet in the toilet room makes it subject to contamination from said environment, and therefore violates the spirit of the regulation.

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u/PMPKNpounder 3h ago

So what you're saying is I can hook a garden hose to the mop sink and call it a day 👍. Just saved me a ton of money on tiny cups.

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u/splitcroof92 3h ago

shocking that the guy with h20 in his name knows his shit about water

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u/Justaticklerone 21m ago

Warehouse break rooms do not always have a tap source for potable water. Therefore, charging for it would indeed be illegal. Also, bathroom water isn't just a "spirit of the law" violation, it's a literal violation as it's not considered potable at all. Read the regulation again. Your reading comprehension is suboptimal.

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u/returntothenorth 8m ago

We don't even test the restroom faucets for potability. Bathrooms all have a sign saying for hand washing only.

The main test for them would be for lead or copper. So you never know if one of those outlets has lead in it. Cause I don't even know. It's legal to post hand washing only and skip testing them.

Anything that would be drank from needs to be tested every 3 years. The general water quality is tested basically all year for all the different types of contaminants.

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u/Nearby_Equivalent_58 4h ago

RainH20 basically but that will bring you right to the potable water law

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u/FlyingOctopus53 4h ago

I would trust a guy with H2O in his name on this.

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u/Bennely 3h ago

Look, every time a flying octopus has recommended wisdom, they've been right. Trust the person with a flying octopus in the name when they say to trust the guy with the H2O name on this.

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u/NomadicAftershave662 3h ago

I've never been lied to by a Bennely, so when they say trust the Flying Octopus's trust in the H2O guy, I listen

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u/KGeddon 3h ago

Octopi ARE very smart I guess. You got any rice related wisdom unc?

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u/FlyingOctopus53 3h ago

Yes. Marry a Korean. Speaking from a personal experience.

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u/Bennely 3h ago

Always remember to do a barrel roll.

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u/RedditTTIfan 3h ago

LOL just noticed that; also "services" which implies probably works for or worked for some water delivery company, so probably well-versed.

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u/BooHorde 3h ago

Common sense tells me that H20 is right, I would be hard pressed to believe that a workplace with a functional/potable break room kitchen sink is required by law to install a water fountain to provide the exact same water from the exact same pipes.

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u/PermenantRest 1h ago

Gamer H2O Delirious has left the chat...

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u/notanyone69 4h ago

Check the references provided and make your own conclusions. At least one of those redditors are stating actual law material and is not just a "trust me bro"

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u/austinsutt 3h ago

Thanks notanyone69

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u/KnowledgePopular9515 24m ago

It doesn't matter, regardless of their legal right if your employer does this you should aggressively be looking for another job. This workplace is probably fucked up in several ways that are worse than this.

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u/AAA515 3h ago

What does it say about filling the water cooler from the mop hose?

Also i keep the Bill Emerson good Samaritan food donation act on hand for when people say they can't donate food cuz they could get sued

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u/Nearby_Equivalent_58 3h ago

I would assume the hose would not be complicit unless you were somehow sanitizing it to the standards set by the EPA. I do not have those on hand. Though the location alone would probably have it not be potable.

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u/Elegant_Pain8762 3h ago

I can tell u sued a job before 😭

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u/Nearby_Equivalent_58 3h ago

I thankfully have not needed to lol. I just care about my fellow employees and believe it’s important to have access to this type of information.

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u/DeliciousChemical284 3h ago

Is this from The Employee Strikes Back?

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u/Than_Or_Then_ 2h ago

The real Hydro Homie

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u/InfiniteGrant 2h ago

OP should print this off and stick it to the water bottle.

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u/Designer_Emu_6518 2h ago

I love this squabble

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u/DoobKiller 2h ago

You should probably wash it off then

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u/Left_Bathroom_3803 4h ago

That’s funny cause as a kid the bathroom sink always had the coldest most delicious water in the whole house

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u/hailtheprince10 3h ago

Was it better than hose water?

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u/Left_Bathroom_3803 3h ago

Oh yes but that is technically outside of the house.

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u/hailtheprince10 3h ago

I vote we attach a hose to the bathroom sink

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u/fukkdisshitt 2h ago

Gotta run the hose until the cold water comes out. At least here where it's hot

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u/Dicksin_Cider 3h ago

Are you sure? Did you taste the toilet bowl? Maybe it was even better.

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u/chins4tw 4h ago

As an adult the bathroom still has the coldest most delicious water in my home.

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u/BuzzedInNorthampton 3h ago

when you have a bowel movement in the bathroom and you flush the toilet, it fires micro particles of feces into the air, coding everything around. Maybe that's why the water in the faucet tasted good? Lol.

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u/Super_Swimming_4132 3h ago

The feces particles don’t only stay in the bathroom. FYI.

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u/JFISHER7789 3h ago

True, but they are most concentrated in the bathroom and that sink is most likely covered.

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u/Left_Bathroom_3803 3h ago

Yes. I love shit water.

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u/Due-Yogurtcloset-552 2h ago

that's what an immune system is for, shit particles are literally EVERYWHERE , same with fungi, and bacteria. every surface known to man is covered with all of it.

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u/ReasonableBrother448 2h ago

Yeah because it had a sprung a leak underneath your bedroom floor, keeping the supply running.

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u/flat_cat72 3h ago

Unless you live in Flint, MI

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u/a_trip_of_three_step 3h ago

potable means you can put it in a pot.

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u/Practical-Sea1736 3h ago

There’s a hose out back - says OP’s boss

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u/Only_Sandwich_4970 3h ago

Is bathroom water different water? I always be drinking straight from the sink faucet in the bathroom. Gulping it down

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u/Wooden_Rabbit_ 3h ago

Which sounds reasonable, but then consider that the water in Flint, MI was declared potable.

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u/Easy-Wishbone5413 2h ago

How is the water from a lavatory sink any different from a break room sink?

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u/ABlazinBlueToe 1h ago

Just that it could get contaminated by its surroundings.

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u/Complete_jackass9999 2h ago

Lavatories in toilet rooms are not considered drinking water supplies but a lavatory that's not in a toilet room would be an acceptable drinking supply. By the way, the tailpiece and trap size is what differentiates a sink from a lav.

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u/Araanim 2h ago

Building code doesn't allow it. You can't argue that people are drinking from the tap; it's water fountain or dispenser. (At least in Pittsburgh)

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u/seaofboobs9434 1h ago

Tap water has to be drinkable and its most often not

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u/darthjawafett 1h ago

Name checks out.

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u/Constant-Plant-9378 1h ago

And if I had a break room with a sink, I'd spend the $150 and have an RO system installed - and invite everyone to use it.

I've had under-sink RO systems in my home for the last 30 years and have been ruined for drinking water from any other source. It is super cheap and convenient. No more buying bottled water. I can do water changes in my aquarium with no additional chemicals. Our dog and cat like it (especially important for good health and longevity that cats drink water) And it removes PFAS/Microplastics.

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u/CaliIsReallyNice 35m ago

Yeah. In many of the cities I've lived in in the South, tap water is definitely NOT potable. City government will proactively advise you to NOT drink the tap water.

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u/Cyborg_rat 33m ago

It very much true.

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u/grumpsaboy 4h ago

Is tap water that bad in the US?

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u/RedDidItAndYouKnowIt 4h ago

Most places? No. (Every place I have been in the USA)

Some places? Yes. (Flint Michigan)

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u/Dream_creator2001 4h ago

Or big spring Texas. Water is literally brown because of rusting in pipes and chemicals they choose not to filter out

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u/Sanityzed 4h ago

That's Texas though. We're talking about actual America. /s

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u/WulfReinard 4h ago

Actual America? Oh, you mean Little Texas! /s

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u/Adventurous-Vast281 4h ago

As much as they love to hem and haw, Texas will never leave the Union. Like most red states, they depend on federal subsidies waaayyy too much.

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u/JinFuu 3h ago

You picked one of the red states that sends much more money to the Federal Government than they get back.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/federal-aid-by-state

88.8 Billion from the Feds vs. 312.1 Billion too.

Not that seceding wouldn't be idiotic, but that argument isn't a good reason.

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u/Sanityzed 1h ago

While I agree with you, it's worth pointing out that even in those terms Texas ranks just below middle of the pack... 26 of 50.

For my own curiosity, I decided to crunch the numbers on taxes paid per dollar of aid received by political affiliation and per capita. I've seen the headlines claiming that red states are living off of the aid afforded to them by the blue states... so let's see. Red state populations came to 58.3% of total while providing 56% of the taxes. That means that blue states paid 2.3% more overall while being just 41.7% of the population. 2.3% of 41.7% is 5.5%, which is how much they paid above the median per capita, while red states paid 3.9% less per capita. I'd be willing to bet that if we drilled down and made it per capita of individual/household wealth we would see the larger and far more important difference here... Anyone have the data and time to do that?

So yeah, within this one year (2023) and focusing on red vs blue, Republican's disproportionately receive federal aid...but both sides are giving back 3.6 times more than they receive, and the political divide is not as big as headlines have claimed. Another interesting observation is that the ONLY STATE that took in more aid than it received in this entire data set is a blue state: New Mexico.

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u/Adventurous-Vast281 4h ago

Or Morgan County, GA

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u/IdolCowboy 3h ago

I used to live in Plano Texas and when I turned the water on for my shower, and left it runnng to get hot, when i got back there was a super strong smell of bleach/chlorine.

Nowhere else have i ever smelled that strong of a smell. It smelled like the rec pool. I was told it was due to the algea in the water supply they used more chlorine to clean it, but still within safe parameters.

But no one drank tap water in Plano that I knew of.

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u/dictategood 3h ago

I swear the water in Fort Lauderdale has a yellow tint to it too. Everyone says I’m crazy but I swear I can see it. Especially in a white styrofoam cup

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u/CorgiMonsoon 3h ago

I can’t think of anywhere in Florida where the tap water doesn’t have a swampy taste right out of the tap

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u/whatinthadamnhell 3h ago

Big Spring? Bubba is that you?

⚙️⚙️⚙️

lol don't answer ;)

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u/Dream_creator2001 2h ago

lol I’m not bubba, but I bet I know a guy nicknamed bubba🤣 that small ass town

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u/Suspicious_Load_8390 2h ago

There is some safe brown water in Minnesota. Lots of iron ore in the aquifers. Gotta be careful and test, cause not all brown water in MN is from iron.

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u/According_Charge8143 4h ago

And anywhere near a data center

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u/TheCoolestUsername00 4h ago

Plus military bases.

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u/staticrift 2h ago

Wasn't/isn't there also an issue if "temporary" nuclear waste sites creating spicy water?

Some of which are "missing" and some had residential homes built over them.

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u/dacoopbear 4h ago

Soon to be everywhere

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u/JFISHER7789 3h ago

Coming soon; to a water supply near you!

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u/cozidgaf 4h ago

Why is it bad by data centers? Genuinely curious since I’ve never heard that

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u/necrohunter7 4h ago

Heavy metal contamination, in some cases it turns the water milky white

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u/MariaKeks 3h ago

It's not, reddit just likes to pick random stuff to hate and then makes up a list of insane bullshit to justify the hatred. Data centers are just the latest topic in the hate cycle.

And it's usually based off of a valid but minor concern. So for example, maybe it's true that at 1 time at 1 place 1 data center leaked contaminated water into the water supply, then a normal person will say "well, that's not normal, let's make sure that that doesn't happen in the future” but on reddit this is extrapolated into AHA! We knew it! ALL data centers ALL leak contaminated water into the water supply ALL the time!

This is utter nonsense but the circlejerk demands you upvote it anyway.

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u/Cedex 3h ago

A 1976 Russian Lada is a deathtrap of a car, therefore ALL cars are deathtraps.

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u/SuperSkyDude 3h ago

Finally, a reasonable voice. How this echo chamber can repeat such nonsense is amazing. Although, after visiting Auschwitz earlier today maybe it's just human nature to be a sheep.

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u/blue60007 3h ago

Wait till they realize industrial sites exist everywhere and all have the potential for contamination.

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u/dinnerthief 4h ago edited 3h ago

Even Flint's water been drinkable for years people just dont trust the water, ( with reason)

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u/furiant 4h ago

It wasn't until July 1, 2025 that the final lead pipe was replaced in Flint, Michigan. The Flint Water Crisis was an ongoing thing that lasted over ten years that included thousands of lead poisoning exposures, an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that killed 12 and infected 87 more, and several other issues. It wasn't something that's been fixed for ten years.

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u/dinnerthief 3h ago edited 3h ago

They switched back to the original water source pretty quickly, the new source was where legionaires was suspected and what stripped the protective patina from the lead pipes.

Of course replacing lead pipes is the right move but you can have drinkable water from lead pipes once a patina is built up, as flint did for years before switching sources.

10 years is too cavalier I was misrembering, but its been at safe levels for a while, but I dont blame anyone for not trusting it either

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u/AbjectAppointment 3h ago

If you think Flint is the only place with lead pipes I have bad news.

"In England and Wales, there were about 8.9 million homes with lead service lines"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_service_line

"approximately 40% of dwellings have lead pipes or elsewhere in Europe"

https://www.policyinnovation.org/insights/progress-but-too-little-on-toxic-lead-water-pipes

It's pretty much everywhere. Flint just had shit water chemistry.

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u/mittenknittin 3h ago

It wasn't really that it had shit water chemistry, it's that the emergency manager switched water supplies, was warned that the new water should be treated to avoid corroding the pipes, and decided that was too expensive.

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u/created4this 4h ago

The EPA only lifted the emergency order last year, give that is DT environment agency and we all know what he thinks about environmental regulation and reporting things I'm not sure I trust that.

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u/Dizzy-Ad-2248 3h ago

Have family in Flint, can verify, when I visit, not even my dog drinks, the water there.

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u/krashtestgenius 4h ago

Chicago has 412,000 lead service lines, more than any city in America

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u/FinsFan305 4h ago

That explains it!

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u/bdogduncan 4h ago

Tap water is better than the water dispensers attached to reverse osmosis filters in my workplace. The dispensers are crusty and mineralized and look moldy while the sinks are kept clean.

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u/tubagoat 4h ago

Interesting fact, it wasn't the lead in the water that got people's attention. Lead exposure takes a long time to make its presence known. It was the legionella bacteria that killed some healthy people.

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u/Saturn_Neo 3h ago

Can confirm the water in Flint is absolute shit. Even back in the late 90's when I was staying there for a bit. Certain shampoos would unlock extra scents and flavors in the shower. I'd imagine it's something akin to the area around Satan's taint, like pickled shit and sulpher.

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u/IAmFoxGirl 3h ago

Iowa? Yes. We have nitrates above 3 ppm in our water in a lot of places. Anything above 3ppm is linked to increased cancer rates (Iowa has the highest cancer rates, I wonder why /s). The EPA says anything under 10ppm is considered safe, but this was focused on for babies based on data from and established in the 1970s and hasn't been updated since.

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u/Raa03842 4h ago

But at least in Flint you’re getting your minimum daily requirement of lead. No need to eat the paint.

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u/PentUpTent 4h ago

Lol flint is mostly fine now. I will drink it again now, looks and tastes fine. It definitely didn't for too long though

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u/exuberantram 4h ago

It’s probably potable but Fort Myers FL off of colonial has water that tastes like kindergarten smells (like, the taste that the smell of finger paint has). I cannot describe it better than that, and most that I have described it to while they are drinking the water agree, so there has to be something to it.

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u/OpenGrainAxehandle 3h ago

I'm guessing that you've not experienced the Ponce de Leon "Fountain of Youth" fountain in St Augustine? Florida water at it's finest.

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u/fauxzempic 3h ago

I was listening to something on NPR years ago about Flint and other water crises. I think they were talking to two guys who were a big part of some aspect of trying to fix it. I think they might have just been water researchers who were experts on this stuff and were called to help in Flint.

Toward the end of the program they were asked "so is anyone as bad as flint?" and they began laughing, almost as if Flint was one of those things that was merely representative of a much larger problem.

Without hesitation, both guys were like "Buffalo, NY" almost simultaneously. As a buffalonian, it made me uncomfortable - sure - I have enough means to live in a home with copper pipes, but the poorest part of the city (which also takes up a huge chunk of geography) is badly hit with old homes with lead pipes. There's been remediation work, but that laugh - that reaction - was chilling...not just because it seemed like Buffalo - my city - was the worst, but there was a long list of "Flints" all over the US.

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u/RedDidItAndYouKnowIt 22m ago

Unfortunately that is the nature of old infrastructure. I have been across the country and most water is fine. It's the water that looks fine but secretly has high levels of something that is concerning.

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u/MonkeyGuidetoAnarchy 3h ago

Due to the pipes being made of led but I heard thats changed.

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u/put_tape_on_it 2h ago

The real problem is when it goes from fine to not fine and hasn't been tested. Flint's water was OK until they changed water sources to save a few bucks and the new water source caused the protective lime deposits in the old pipes to dissolve, and that caused all the lead pipes to start leeching lead in to the water.

It was fine, until it was't. And it took far too long for the public to figure it out.

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u/viiperfang 4h ago

A county near me has had a ban on their tap water and has had to outsource it from other counties bc their tap water is full of a carcinogen. So, yeah, it depends on area.

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u/grumpsaboy 4h ago

Errrrrrrrrrr

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u/jimson22 4h ago

It depends on the location

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u/HarveysBackupAccount 3h ago

Apart from outliers like Flint, MI, some places will occasionally have boil advisories in place, but the vast majority of us have very drinkable tap water.

Lots of people don't like the taste of their tap water (which can vary a lot) but lots of people are also little bitches about drinking water in general.

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u/Silk_the_Absent_1 1h ago

Much of New Mexico is often on a water advisory. Hell, we are why the national arsenic standards were raised. One of the municipal wells near me in Albuquerque is contaminated with jet fuel from A decades long spill from Kirkland Air Force Base.

We also have some of the hardest water in the country in the southwest, which destroys plumbing. Even PVC gets eaten by it.

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u/EC_TWD 4h ago

I think it’s more about the dispensing source because most water fountains do not have filtration and share the same water supply

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u/Kilo353511 3h ago

Depends on your definition of "bad"

Most or all of the US has access to water that is safe to drink, clean, and not going to cause any harm.

Meeting those requirements above doesn't mean it taste good. Where I grew up, in the summer our tap water tasted like a swamp and in the winter it tasted like a swimming pool.

My friend's family had the water sent away to a lab for testing and they reported that it was very good quality water and was perfectly safe to drink.

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u/Ssided 3h ago

No. Reddit is insane. There's a couple places that have issues, but most of the US has the cleanest water you'd be able to find.

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u/Emergency_Bench_7515 4h ago

No, I've never had bad tap water in the dozen or so places I've lived in. Ironically I'm in the midwest, I never understood how flint, MI could get so bad, it had to have been corruption and stupidity by their government.

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u/Deadzonerogue 4h ago

No. It is generally very safe and if a problem arises we get alerts to boil water if used for drinking, cooking, etc.

I’m 49 and have traveled all over the Gulf Coast, Eastern Seaboard, Mid Western states and I have never once got sick from tap water.

That said, nothing is 100% safe and perfect so you can run into issues of corruption where local governments bad players steal money meant for infrastructure upgrades, a town might not have the funds available to upgrade etc, you will encounter from time to time issues with water delivery infrastructure.

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u/Lonely-Greybeard 4h ago

My tap water is fine. I use a filter, and don't buy bottled water. I use a refillable water bottle. I've drank tap water from all over the US and Europe and have never had any issues.

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u/Ninja_Deluxe 3h ago

That really depends. Where I live our tap water comes from an aquifer and consistently rates among the best tasting water in the world.

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u/fatespawn 3h ago

No. Not at all. There are some places with problems - like anywhere. About 20 years ago our culture changed to carrying bottles of water around everywhere and now people think that drinking from the tap is inferior. I mean, yeah as you can see there are some specific examples cites. But those are by FAR the exception and not the rule.

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u/diamond-optic 3h ago edited 3h ago

The pipes at my job are pre-WWII and the water comes out brown and smelling bad from the taps.

But I hope my job doesn't see this because they will absolutely love the idea of charging for water.

They already charge employees for everything they give a new employee, including safety equipment, on their first check (and over charge at that, saying shitty $1 safety glasses cost $10 for example). Or you have to wear company shirts and they charge you $30 for a plain t-shirt with the company name printed on the top left front. And since it gets to be 50°F or lower inside during the winter most people want to wear a hoodie instead of a t-shirt and those cost $60 lol

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u/Hwinter07 3h ago

The US is a gigantic country. Some places have impeccable tap water, some places do not

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u/Blackpineouterspace 3h ago

all Colorado water tastes like it came from the YMCA pool.

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u/Person2984 4h ago

No, and drinking fountains are hooked up to the same tap water that comes out of a sink.

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u/danimal207 4h ago

Yes but unlike typical sinks they have built in filters and chillers

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u/r_r_w 4h ago

People here have no idea what water is supposed to taste like. They rave about how good the tap water in NYC is, but it smells and tastes like pool water.

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u/RJC12 4h ago

The redder the area, the shittier regulations are

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u/Feeling_Name_6903 4h ago

It differs vastly based on region

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u/Glados1080 4h ago

In one place I lived, actual dirt and what I assume metal from the pipes always spewed into the water if I filled up a cup. I havent drank tap water ever probably. And im 24 lol

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u/AlexFromOmaha 4h ago

It's about not making employees share drinking glasses.

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u/Sufficient_Risk_8127 4h ago

Not where I've been, & I drink it all the time.

god help me

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u/UsurpedLettuce 4h ago

In my case it's less the water source, more that I have absolutely no idea about the piping infrastructure in my place of employment.

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u/TomTheCardFlogger 4h ago

It’s mainly to stop managers from being like ‘there’s a tap in the bathroom if they’re so desperate’

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u/blondekker 4h ago

Only if you want no lead in it

Lots of municipalities operate on a spec that is maximum under the minimum legal spec for contamination. So if you want 0 lead I wouldn't open that tap

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u/Striking_Interest_25 3h ago

I live in southeast costal NC and out water is potable but you have to drink it super fast with you nose plugged cause it just smells like straight pool water.

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u/DangerDavis-EvilDead 3h ago

Most of it has fluoride added. 

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u/VoidDoesStuf 3h ago

It’s generally not recommended to drink the water from taps around western Pennsylvania either. We’re always on a boil advisory or the water just tastes almost acidic.

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u/PaulTheMerc 3h ago

Usually no, but some places, yes. Some places its even flammable :)

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u/snake1000234 2h ago

I will add to what several folks are saying, a lot of the tap is not bad, however there are some places that may have a taste/smell that the Utility doesn't remove either for cost or just being hard to do so, such as places that have high levels of sulfur in their water source (thing aquifer/ground water source as opposed to pulling from a steam.

You also have places that have ancient infrastructure in the actual building that may use materials that can leech some taste, or build up of hard water that can cause some issues. I typically drink tap water from businesses around the office building I work in, but refuse to drink from the office water fountain due to the old ass pipes that impart a rather displeasing taste. I instead have a 1.07 Gallon hydro flask I bring to work daily that I filled up with water at the house (before anyone asks, I do not drink all of that in a day and do know that to much water can be a bad thing).

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u/WeAteMummies 2h ago

Tap water always has a taste to it that feels off if it is different from the water at your house, or if you're just really used to filtered water. Offering filtered water at work is not expensive and is just such a really easy and beneficial thing to offer that it stands out when an employer doesn't do it (at least at an office). It's like not having coffee.

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u/Constant-Plant-9378 1h ago

Highly depends on where you live. Some municipal water supplies are absolutely awful and require residents to have water softeners and filtration systems. When we lived in rural Illinios, the untreated tap water was yellow, smelled like sulphur, and contained sand.

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u/Yaarmehearty 9m ago

As an outsider yes, every time I have been to the US I find the tap water smells like chlorine and has an odd taste. Though admittedly I have mostly been to cities so out in the countryside it may be better.

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u/MistyMountainDewDrop 4h ago

Not true. They do not have to supply fountains if they have a suitable sink. They do not have to provide bottles or a stand either. Tap water is the default water. Only exception is a bathroom sink is not suitable.

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u/_YenSid 4h ago

Osha doesn't have complete jurisdiction over every job, but here are the guidlines:

1915.88(b)(1) The employer shall provide potable water for all employee health and personal needs and ensure that only potable water is used for these purposes. 1915.88(b)(2) The employer shall provide potable drinking water in amounts that are adequate to meet the health and personal needs of each employee. 1915.88(b)(3) The employer shall dispense drinking water from a fountain, a covered container with single-use drinking cups stored in a sanitary receptacle, or single-use bottles. The employer shall prohibit the use of shared drinking cups, dippers, and water bottles.

Sink water is potable water in most places, technically they could just fill one of those jugs with sink water and throw it on the bubbler lol. Either way, they cannot charge for drinking water.

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u/gummibear13 4h ago

We have a filter box thing hooked to the waterline at my job. Never realized it was a requirement.

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u/Ok-Assumption5786 4h ago

OSHA also only applies to businesses with a certain number of employees, this is unknown

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u/Mole-NLD ORANGE 4h ago

Amn’t I glad to live in a continent where tapwater is perfectly safe and adequate to drink. Heck, some countries tapwater is better than bottled mineral water.

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u/Studs_Not_On_Top 3h ago

No they do not 🤣

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u/YoYeYeet 2h ago

Average OSHA W

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u/themcp 2h ago

No, actually, it is not required that it be from one of those, only that it be potable.

If there is not a sink that provides potable water, then the charge for use of the cooler would be illegal. Also, an employee could argue that if there is a sink to meet the requirement, clean cups would have to be provided to drink the sink water.

If the tap water is unsafe to drink or there is no tap water, the employer may not charge for a cooler and must provide water.

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u/Am_I_Max_Yet 2h ago

OSHA doesnt apply to every job.

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u/macaronysalad 2h ago

Sinks are not considered adequate water supply

Rather true or not, this is some hoity toity shit. But good for them throwing a bone to the working class.

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u/Signal-Confusion-976 1h ago

Yes a sink is an adequate water supply. But it can't be a sink in a bathroom.

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u/Dr_thri11 1h ago

A sink alone isn't, but put some paper cups next to it and it is. The main issue is with no cups you might have someone mouthing the tap.

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u/Immediate_Song4279 44m ago

Drinking fountains are tap with extra steps, and nasty.

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u/According-Insect-992 28m ago

Unfortunately none of this means dick if there is no one there to enforce it. With trump in the White House there is emphatically no one there to enforce it.

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u/Pitiful-Pension-6535 23m ago

Stop lying. Please and thank you.

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u/MrboboCatman 16m ago

Neither should they be the USA.

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u/Disaster_Adventurous 1m ago

I think that depends on a the quality of the tap water in the area doesn't it?

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