Refused tap water at a festival - were they right?

Ash_Pole

My friend was buying several alcoholic drinks and then asked for a class of tapwater for his son. He was refused and told he could buy a bottle of water instead.

I know for licensed premises they have to provide free tap water. I believe they can charge for service or for the glass, but I think it's quite rare anyone actually does this. But is there a different rule for festivals?

boo_star

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/blog/premises-licence-rules-for-events-ds00/ says that they would need a premises licence to sell alcohol if there were more than 500 people and if they had a premises licence they'd be required to provide free "potable" (not specifically tap) water.

shaun_from_Africa

boo_star wrote: »

and if they had a premises licence they'd be required to provide free "potable" (not specifically tap) water.

Whilst it's true that licenced premises are required to provided potable water, they only have to do this when it is reasonably available:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111116906

2. The responsible person must ensure that free potable water is provided on request to customers where it is reasonably available.

The management of an outdoors event might be able to legally argue that due to the number of people there, they couldn't make an ample supply of potable water reasonably available.

boo_star

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Whilst it's true that licenced premises are required to provided potable water, they only have to do this when it is reasonably available:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111116906


The management of an outdoors event might be able to legally argue that due to the number of people there, they couldn't make an ample supply of potable water reasonably available.

And a reasonable person could argue that a few water coolers worth of water isn't outside their capability.

I'd definitely say that it isn't worth the OPs time to pursue.

Fosterdog

boo_star wrote: »

And a reasonable person could argue that a few water coolers worth of water isn't outside their capability.

I'd definitely say that it isn't worth the OPs time to pursue.

Maybe they did have that earlier in the day but had a lot more people than expected ask for it, it's something that without plumbing is going to be a limited resource, also quite often the booths/vans at these events wouldn't have the physical storage space for much water, maybe one water cooler and one bottle, but those bottles are bulky and heavy so not really practical to have many lying around.

iammumtoone

Considering there is no tap available at a festival stand I am not sure why anyone would think to ask for it.

peachyprice

iammumtoone wrote: »

Considering there is no tap available at a festival stand I am not sure why anyone would think to ask for it.

I would imagine the booths must have a tap for some sort of running water for staff hand washing etc, but running water and drinkable 'tap' water are not the same. Why would anyone want to drink water that does come out of the taps that has been sat festering in a tank?

We were at an event recently where people were filling water bottles from the hand washing sinks in temporary toilets. Eeeewww.

PragmaticMoneySaver

I disagree. With the weather we have had I think it is ridiculous that any outdoor event cannot make provision for free drinking water for anything other than commercial reasons.

I run a large outdoor event for a charity with over 1,000 attendees in the middle of a field yet we have numerous free mains water taps which we install from the nearest water main on the public highway. Liaison with the water authority will allow any event similar access to drinking water.

timbstoke

For any festival I've been to, drinking water has been available at specific water points, which are often nowhere near the actual bars selling drinks. They might also only be a basic tap, so people would need their own container.

I've never seen a bar at a festival provide free drinking water on request - logistically, a separate water point makes more sense for everyone involved, because water points don't need to be staffed, which means people wanting to spend money on beer aren't queuing behind people who just want water.

Faith177

What festival was it?