Frequently Asked Questions

We are starting with underserved districts outside the busy city center, beginning in Pankow and Lichtenberg.

The Berlin Senate (Senatsverwaltung) decides that together with the Berliner Wasserbetriebe and local district authorities.

The Berlin Senate funds both the installation and maintenance, and the Berliner Wasserbetriebe manages the work.

Installing one fountain costs around €12,000–15,000. Maintenance, including water testing, costs about €3,700 per year.

Yes. Water from each fountain is tested every 4 weeks to ensure it meets safety standards.

The constant flow prevents water from standing in the pipes, which reduces the risk of bacterial growth. The drained water is used to water trees in some locations.

They operate from May to October each year to avoid freezing in winter.

We analyzed BVV archives to identify documented inquiries (Anfragen) related to drinking fountains. In addition, we requested documents through local district representatives. Based on the materials we found, we compiled a database of fountain locations and attached links to the original official documents for each entry. The database will be continuously expanded as new parliamentary inquiries and additional data become available.

Spread the word about our Berlin water fountain map — let your friends know about it or share it through your channels. Feel free to contact us to get stickers and flyers if you’d like to get more involved. We are happy to hear about other projects to collaborate with or get in touch with local authorities.

Yes. Berlin has 238 public drinking fountains operated by Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), plus hundreds of Refill spots, public buildings, and other free water points. Our water fountains in Berlin map shows nearly 1,000 locations across the city. Fountains typically run from May to October each year.

The Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), the company that installs the fountains, only lists them on their own website. They do not integrate the locations with Google Maps. Instead, they provide a downloadable .kml file with all fountain coordinates.

We’ve made it easier for you by turning that data into a Google Maps layer you can add directly to your phone. We also included other public water sources such as libraries, open public schools, Refill spots, and dm stores with water dispensers or customer restrooms.

For even more refill points, check out Refill Berlin, which lists businesses and organizations participating in their program.

We’ve taken the BWB data and other sources and created a map you can add to your Google Maps app as an extra layer. This way, you can see all known public water points right in your regular map view.

Visit our Berlin water fountain map page, tap the download button, and the new layer will be added to your Google Maps app. You can remove it anytime.

Yes! Just write to us at the address listed in the footer.

If you don’t want to see water sources from the custom map in the Google Maps app, tap “You” at the bottom of the screen, scroll all the way down, and select “Maps.” Then tap the name of the map and choose “Close” to hide the water sources. This will temporarily remove the map from your view.

You can learn more on the official Google support page.

The complete list of drinking fountains comes from Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), other refill spots from Refill Germany, the list of Volkshochschulen (VHS) from the official City of Berlin website, the list of libraries from the Verbund der Öffentlichen Bibliotheken Berlins website, and dm stores with a water dispenser (Wasserspender) or customer restroom (Kunden-WC) based on information published on the dm website.

Open our water fountains in Berlin map on your phone and add it as a layer in Google Maps. You can then see public drinking fountains, Refill spots, and other free water points near your current location across Berlin.