Having access to drinking water is something most of us probably don’t think about very often. You turn on the kitchen tap, fill your bottle or grab a glass of water when you’re thirsty.

But new UK research suggests that convenient access to drinking water isn’t as widespread as we might assume.

A new report from the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) found that just 18% of people surveyed said they had easy access to a water cooler. Access to other sources of drinking water wasn’t particularly high either, with 17% reporting easy access to a public refill station and just 12% to a public drinking fountain.

For businesses, the findings raise an interesting question: how easy is it for people in your workplace to get a drink of water?

What Did the RSPH Research Find?

The RSPH’s Healthy Hydration: Making Water the Easy Choice report was published in September 2026 and included polling of 2,067 UK adults.

One of the main issues highlighted by the research is convenience.

People generally understand that drinking water is important, but what they actually choose to drink can be influenced by what’s readily available around them.

According to the research:

  • 18% reported easy access to a water cooler
  • 17% had easy access to a public refill station
  • 12% had easy access to a public drinking fountain
  • 22% said they did not have easy access to clean or filtered tap water
  • 6% said they drank no water at all on a typical day

The research also found that cost and taste play a significant part in what people choose to drink.

In other words, knowing that we should drink water and actually having convenient access to it are two different things.

What Does This Mean for the Workplace?

Think about a normal working day.

Someone arrives at the office, makes a coffee and gets straight into their emails. Meetings follow, then phone calls, deadlines and perhaps another coffee during the afternoon.

It’s surprisingly easy for several hours to pass without drinking much water.

That’s why the location and availability of drinking water can matter.

If getting water means walking to another floor, finding the kitchen busy or relying on a small tap tucked away somewhere, people may simply put it off.

Put a water cooler somewhere visible and convenient, however, and getting a drink becomes much easier.

It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Making Water the Easy Choice

One of the central messages from the RSPH report is straightforward: if we want people to choose water more often, it needs to be easily available.

Workplaces are one environment where businesses can do something practical about that.

An office water cooler gives employees somewhere they know they can refill a bottle or get a glass of water during the working day.

Where the cooler is positioned matters too.

A machine hidden in an unused corner isn’t particularly useful. In a larger London office, it may make more sense to have drinking water available near busy working areas, kitchens, meeting rooms or communal spaces.

For companies occupying several floors, one water point may not be enough.

The aim should be simple: employees shouldn’t have to go looking for drinking water.

Bottled or Mains-Fed Water Coolers?

There are several ways businesses can provide drinking water, and the right solution depends on the workplace.

Bottled water coolers can work well where there isn’t a convenient mains connection or where a business wants more flexibility over where the machine is positioned.

For larger or particularly busy workplaces, a mains-fed water cooler may make more sense. These connect to the building’s water supply and provide filtered drinking water without replacement water bottles.

There’s no single option that’s right for every London office.

A small company with ten employees will have very different requirements from an organisation with hundreds of people spread across several floors.

The number of employees, available space, existing plumbing and expected water consumption should all be considered.

Don’t Forget About Hybrid Working

Working patterns have changed considerably over the last few years, and this can also affect how much drinking water an office needs.

An office may technically have space for 100 people but only have 40 or 50 people working there on an average day.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday might be extremely busy, while Monday and Friday are much quieter.

That makes it worth looking at how your workplace is actually being used, rather than simply choosing a water cooler based on the maximum number of desks.

For bottled water customers, regular water delivery can also be adjusted around actual consumption so that there is enough water available without unnecessarily storing large numbers of bottles.

Is Your Current Drinking Water Setup Good Enough?

You don’t necessarily need to replace what you already have.

Start by looking at it from an employee’s point of view.

Can people easily get drinking water without leaving their main working area?

Is the water point easy to find?

Are there queues at busy times?

Does the office regularly run out of bottled water?

Is the existing cooler suitable for the number of people using it?

Could employees refill reusable bottles easily?

For a larger workplace, it can also be worth asking employees whether they are happy with the current arrangement. You may discover that a cooler which seems perfectly adequate on paper isn’t particularly convenient in practice.

Water Coolers for London Workplaces

For London businesses, space is often part of the equation.

Some offices have large kitchens and plenty of room for floor-standing machines. Others operate from smaller premises where every bit of floor space matters.

Fortunately, office water coolers aren’t one-size-fits-all.

Living-Water supplies bottled and mains-fed water coolers to businesses throughout London and Greater London, with floor-standing and compact options available for different types of workplaces.

Businesses can rent or buy a water cooler depending on their requirements, while bottled-water customers can arrange regular deliveries of natural spring water.

For companies that aren’t sure what they need, it makes sense to consider the number of employees, available space and likely daily water consumption before choosing a machine.

A Small Change That Can Make Water More Accessible

Perhaps the most interesting part of the new RSPH research isn’t simply the 18% figure.

It’s the wider point behind it.

People can know that drinking water is important, but convenience still influences everyday choices.

Employers can’t control everything their employees choose to drink, nor should they need to. What they can do is make sure that drinking water is easy to find when somebody wants it.

Sometimes that can be as straightforward as putting the right water cooler in the right place.

Looking for an Office Water Cooler in London?

Living-Water supplies bottled and mains-fed office water coolers across London and Greater London, with options available for workplaces of different sizes.

Whether you’re replacing an existing cooler, opening a new office or simply want to improve access to drinking water for your team, we can help you find a suitable option.

Explore our range of office water coolers or contact Living-Water to discuss your workplace requirements.