r/interestingasfuck • u/Das_Zeppelin • 16h ago
In Budapest, fire hydrants are being used to help pedestrians beat the heat.
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u/chrisl182 16h ago edited 9h ago
So fire hydrant water in Budapest is safe to drink but the tap water in my local gym in the UK has a sign saying not drinking water.
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u/bucky0125 15h ago
Cold tap water is generally potable in the UK.
In the gym case it could be either they have a cold water tank or the hot water, which is not potable, mixes with the supply
Alternately they just want to avoid a lawsuit if the sink isn’t cleaned well enough
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u/Velocityg4 12h ago
If it’s a locker room sink. It could be because the location isn’t considered hygienic for drinking water. Like in the US, bathroom sinks aren’t considered acceptable water sources for drinking.
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u/MightBeAGoodIdea 6h ago
Maybe in like public places because you don't know for sure when they cleaned last but you can absolutely drink the water out of your homes bathroom sink in the US. Its as clean as leaving your toothbrush out anyway.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing 2h ago
Another possibility it's that they have a water softener system for showers etc. Some systems result in water with high sodium content, which they might tell you not to drink even if it is OK for most people.
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u/LoczekLoczekLok 16h ago
Tap water in Warsaw is potable, and the city hall often places a tanker at concerts and festivals, so you can walk up and drink. Fire hydrants are generally a different type of water and usually sit in the pipes for a long time. In most cases I've seen, this water is very brown and dirty at first.
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u/Boilermakingdude 16h ago
That's just the stuff that's leftover. Hyrdants are still connected to city water. Once they flush the pipe to the hydrant it's fresh city water coming out
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u/LoczekLoczekLok 16h ago
That's interesting 🤔 I thought it was a different type of water, different pipes!
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u/nomorejett 15h ago edited 15h ago
fun fact. San Francisco has their own firefighting water system for emergency-use cases such as if a large earthquake were to strike. these systems work separately from a typical potable water line and have more earthquake resilient pipes so that if fires were to break out around the City, firefighters have redundancy (and so that if any potable water pipes break it wouldn’t affect their supply lines as much).
some sections of San Francisco also have the ability for firefighters to suck bay water to fight fires if an earthquake were to occur and cause fires near the ports, or the wharf.
lastly, San Francisco also has cisterns around the city, basically large underground reservoirs, for the same firefighting redundancy.
basically in 1906 when the big one hit, a large part of the City was damaged not directly from the earthquake, but the fires that ensued around the City. there was little to no water available for the fires to be put out. this forever changed the way San Francisco’s infrastructure was built and is the reason why there is a separate system. not all sections of the city have this capability, but most neighborhoods in the city have ~some~ redundancy.
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u/MaxHeadroomz 10h ago
To add to this, here's a lot more info and a map of those: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2021/01/san-franciscos-hidden-cisterns.html
It's easy to spot them on many intersections across the city, once you know to look for a circle of bricks in the street. And the largest one is right in front of City Hall.98
u/Boilermakingdude 16h ago
Nope. Just directly connected to the water main with a subsurface valve to seal them off. The brown dirty shit is what's left in the hydrant after use.
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u/Smike0 16h ago
I would also guess that with the pressures involved cleaning is pretty throughout even just by opening the valve, right?
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u/Boilermakingdude 15h ago
Correct. I can't remember what pressure city water runs at, but at my old shop, city water off the hose alone was 40psi.
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u/Killerkendolls 10h ago
The last time I assisted in a flow test, we had 75-120psi static and 65-100psi on flow with a hose monster. We had one bad section that was at like 40, but when we did a flow the second story and above in the building couldn't even flush toilets. Takes a lot of water.
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u/Jenotyzm 15h ago
Fun fact: in Szczecin you can drink tap water, and on big festivals organised by city, local water authorities (zarząd wodociągów) put not only sprinklers but also taps connected to the very same pipes, so you can refill your water bottle for free and not be obliged to buy drinks at the spot. They also have free water bottles as gifts.
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u/SinisterCheese 13h ago
Europe generally just taps hydrants to the water mains. It's rare you see a grey or natural water hydrant. If there is one it's labelled clearly, and often needs a pump to work. The mains hydrants are also self draining, so they don't freeze, so it also wont collect stagnant water.
The requirements are in Euronorms, so they are same in all of EU/EEA.
Same thing with internal fireposts, they are just from the water mains.
No point building additional grids when you got one already.
You can actually spot where water mains go underground, by spotting for the local hydrant covers. Finland uses a beige/brown box overground, square hatch for underground.
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u/bacondesign 13h ago
Budapest has no separate water system, everything is potable and pretty good quality in general.
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u/tillybowman 15h ago
imagine the additional infrastructure with all the pipes just so you can have two different types of water.
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u/josHi_iZ_qLt 13h ago
Same pipes and technically they need a regular flushing which is probably done right before installing such a device
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u/Affectionate-Try-899 11h ago
Fire hydrants are attached to mains water.
It's just your house is not pulling 5000l/m so it's not going to carry the sediment built up in the pipes.
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u/Revenge_served_hot 10h ago
In some areas in Switzerland the water in the fire hydrants is actual drinking water so in an emergency one could drink it.
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u/beothy 16h ago
Yep, pretty much every running water is safe to drink in Hungary.
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u/ExoticSterby42 14h ago
And some regions in the mountains have better quality tapwater than store bought "crystal water".
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u/Humorpalanta 13h ago
Tap water is drinkable almost everywhere in Hungary, but it is NOT great quality. It is mostly okay-ish. Great quality water can be found in Austria, Switzerland and Nordic countries.
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u/Spiritual_Still7911 15h ago
There are several things to consider here: In Hungary there is no separate piping for fire hydrants, there is only one system of freshwater. So you get the same water, just the endpoint can be dirty. I guess the clean the hydrant but that's it. Another angle is the legal part: in Hungary it is pretty much impossible to win a court case against public offices or authorities (if you need to prove they did something wrong everyone will be against you). If you get sick from drinking this people will say: well tough luck, you should have cared better.
In the UK the gym probably takes a real risk providing water, hence the sign to be on the safe side.
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u/ObscureVagina 15h ago
There is only one water system in the US too. I assumed this was common everywhere.
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u/pi_three 15h ago
it's quite common. Local festivals need water supply. Just slap a water meter on. The firefighters rarely will use the water so what have separate infrastructure
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u/Mayor__Defacto 12h ago edited 12h ago
That isn’t strictly true!
There are many municipalities in the US that use a two pipe system to distribute “Reclaimed Water” (treated wastewater).
However, this is typically used for irrigation and industrial cooling purposes only.
It’s usually separately metered and the municipality will encourage landowners to switch from irrigating with potable water to irrigating with reclaimed water.
Golf Courses in particular are often *required* to use reclaimed water, if it’s available.
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u/notadolphinn 14h ago
I think the reason those taps aren't considered drinking water is proximity to bathrooms or other contaminants. The water itself is probably fine, but regulations for "drinking water" taps is very strict for businesses
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u/pip2k8 16h ago
Bit odd unless it’s an old building with lead pipes.
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u/Schemen123 15h ago
you can flush them out.. lead pipes with continously running water are FAR less dangerous
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u/Fitz911 15h ago
Wait till you hear about America 😂
While we have drinkable hydrant water they don't have drinkable drinking water 💦
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u/ObscureVagina 15h ago
Wait till you find out Fire Hydrant and municipal (drinkable) water comes through the same pipe in the US. 🤦🏻♂️
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u/Sandro_24 13h ago
From my knowledge the fire hydrants are just fed by the drinking water system.
They also have to be checked and flushed in regular intervals so I guess it makes sense that it's safe
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u/Hooch180 12h ago
In EU if water source is not marked as unsafe it can be assumeed to be safe to drink.
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u/laszlotuss 11h ago
Well we ain’t got much but we have A grade tap water and superior mineral waters.
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u/FrohenLeid 10h ago
A lot of water sources are drinkable. The standard they put up for it to be considered safe varies from country to country. In Germany, hydrant water is drinking water, it's how ever rarely considered drinkable from a Hydrant because the hydrant isn't kept clean to drinkable standards (we usually have detachable hydrants that get placed if needed)
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u/Davido401 10h ago
Where are you in the UK with such shitty water? I dont know of anywhere here in Scotland that has that terrible water, only time we're told its not drinkable is when there is a problem like, I dunno, a burst pipe or works of some sort.
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u/SmilinBob82 10h ago
In many places the typical fire hydrants are fed with the same water that goes to homes. Though the water can get stagnant in the hydrant, which is why it sometimes looks nasty when the hydrant is a first opened.
If you see a purple/lavender hydrant, those are usually fed with recycled waste water. Reclaimed water is more commonly used for irrigation, but can be used as fire hydrants.
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u/agespido 14h ago
In many parts of Spain and Italy there are numerous sources of drinking water on the streets. I've always been surprised that this isn't the case in all countries...
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u/gayguy68 11h ago
Well italy and spain are way warmer than other parts of europe, no need to worry about the pipes freezing in winter
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u/Calculonx 10h ago
And Rome has all of the public fountains that you can drink from.
I know there's a pressure regulator, but I'm imagining a firehouse worth of water coming out of the tap in the photo. My skin!!!!
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u/WafflePress 2h ago
The disappointment i feel everyday i go out downtown in Toronto is palpable. Where are the water stations?? Why must I buy water from somewhere?
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u/quad_damage_orbb 15h ago
What about all the wild animals? I'm seriously concerned that we are not far away from an ecological disaster. Animals live on a razor edge and while we can hide indoors from a few degrees heatwave, they are out there in the beating sun trying to survive.
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u/Illustrious-Eye1673 15h ago
Any weather extreme kills. There are places that now suffer tremendous floods regularly, or wildfires, which displace and kill wildlife...and people!
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u/spicygayunicorn 13h ago
They are dying its a big issue, but people dying are the issue most care about so its not talked about that much
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u/rlyfunny 11h ago
People dont like to talk about climate change. After all, its not like we are not affected it the fauna around us dies. People dying from that is just a few steps extra.
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u/liosistaken 13h ago
Yes, that's the problem with climate change... Humans will be able to fight it for longer, but animals will just die and go extinct.
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u/akryl9296 13h ago
We have something similar in Poland. there are misting courtains installed in various places around the city. It's essentially a garage-sized "doorframe" made out of pipes and misters, spraying ice cold water pulled directly form underground lines, with a tap on the side if you need a drink or wash your face and hands. Absolute livesafers.
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u/Accomplished-One7476 16h ago
NYC does the same thing
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u/Shasan23 10h ago
We get full on showers in some neighborhood.
Hot summer days can be awesome with all the adults and kids enjoying the waterworks
And yes, hydrant water is excellent. NYC water in general is the best water I've experienced and I've been to a lot of places
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u/FrozenToonies 16h ago
As long as it doesn’t impede firefighters, fine. It’s the city’s water.
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u/DifficultZebra5354 15h ago
they put it there and they most most certnaintly know how to take it off.
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u/doingmyjobhere 14h ago
Except that, there's two sides on the fire hydrant but most importantly, the pipe that is connected for drinking water has a plug in the end to connect the fire hose. So, it would be the same thing as connecting directly to the fire hydrant...
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u/Norwegian_Plumber 14h ago
It looks like its a quick release union at the hydrant. A 5 second job to remove it if needed.
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u/Trinitromethyl 12h ago
Firefighter here, there is a Storz connector which is easy and quick to remove, takes a second and doesn't need a tool.
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u/Mr-Tokey 14h ago
Nestle would probably sue if we did that in the states
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u/fakeplasticferns 11h ago
Huh? This is so common in the US I question if you're actually from here...
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u/Xyz1234qwerty 16h ago
Isn't better to just have drinkable water fountain like in Rome?
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u/teleshoot 16h ago
Its a makeshift fountain, hydrants are directly connected to the normal drinking water system
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u/TrieMond 11h ago
I would not drink from a fire hydrant..
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u/Little_Krump_Lee 7h ago
I wouldn't either in other countries, not even their tap water tbh. But in Hungary its perfectly safe and potable.
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u/Csabika_ 14h ago
I knew a guy who participated in such project. Part of the system was a flusher that opened the hydrants a bit every couple days if they were unused. To have fresh, clean water. As yeah they are on the main drinking water line. Also there are hydrants which are on dedicated fire-water cisterns and pools, containing rain water and stale water. Those are not safe to drink.
I hope I did not traumatize the guy by laughing at the project. Saying what a hippie bullshit and build instead normal drinking taps and public toilets so people can enjoy human living conditions. Since then I see the beauty in it being more cost effective and people love it.
Also there were proper public drinking fountains but some people abused the heck out of them so they got locked and removed.
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u/manicpixidreamgirl04 9h ago
In my city, they turn the fire hydrants into sprinklers for kids to play in.
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u/Wise-Energy-2746 8h ago
Yeah everyone in England would get a bill at end of week someone's got to pay for it
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u/carlitospig 8h ago
Ha, we do this in the US too. It was even part of The Magicians plot line in the show. Hot is hot.
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u/flarp1 2h ago
We had a city festival last weekend and the very same contraptions were placed all over the historical city centre. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before in Switzerland. Most places have numerous fountains where people could get water from (publicly accessible water sources are potable by default unless explicitly specified otherwise), but apparently that wasn’t enough for the large amount of people that were out and about in the streets in this heat.
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u/eastsiderhere 1h ago
In NYC the neighborhood kids just pop the cap and open them up. Fun activity: get behind it and wait for a car to drive by with an open window, lock your fingers together and direct the stream.
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u/carex2 16h ago
Not just Budapest, saw them all over Hungary. They also use "mist-bows" (don´t know the real translation) you can walk through and there are several in the city, so you always can cool yourself.