Partygoers press clubs to offer free water: ‘It costs the same as beer’ | Club culture

WWhen Brooklyn metal band Contract performs around New York, they expect a mosh pit: bodies shoving and jumping to the beat of the music. They also want to make sure the lively, drunk crowd always stays hydrated. Without water, the Musher may feel sick, faint, or faint. “You don’t want anyone to get hurt or hurt,” forward Pele Oriel said.

Most of the spaces Uriel plays or visits have water stations where patrons can easily fill up. But some don’t. The worst criminals sell bottled water at astronomical prices, from $5 to $10. “There were times when I asked for water, but they charged too much, so I went to the store next door to buy some,” Uriel said.

These places do not violate any rules. New York City, which has more than 25,000 bars, clubs and other nightlife venues, does not require them to provide free water to patrons. While the majority do – and most bartenders are trained to look for signs of an intoxicated customer – these basic safety precautions are not accepted by everyone.

Brian Hackel, an EMT who works at local festivals and events, often finds himself treating partygoers suffering from heat stroke caused by high temperatures, close crowds and dehydration. “When things happen, free water makes it not so bad for that person,” he said. “It makes a huge difference between someone getting an Uber and just having to go to urgent care, rather than needing an ambulance to the hospital where an IV drip can cost $700 to $800.”

In other areas, partygoers have better luck. In San Francisco, any venue with a dance floor must provide “free cold drinking water.” The same applies to businesses in Connecticut that serve alcoholic beverages. Starting this year, Minnesota requires ticketed events with more than 100 attendees to provide free water and allow guests to bring their own factory-sealed water bottles. After years of grumbling from tourists to the longtime party capital of the world, Ibiza, Spain, with some saying venues charge €10 for a bottle of water, clubs must offer free water on request.

Most water Hackel has seen in New York is $12. In November, he started a petition asking the city to create regulations requiring places that serve alcohol and large gatherings to provide free water stations. More than 500 people have signed up, and Hackel wants to work with harm reduction nonprofits, which campaign to reduce the risks that come with drug use, to spread the word further and hopefully catch the attention of elected officials.

There has been a long battle in the UK to ensure that all establishments selling alcohol must provide free cold tap water to customers. Fiona Meacham, head of criminology at the University of Liverpool and founder of harm reduction organization The Loop, said it started in Manchester during the city’s rave era. The legendary Hacienda nightclub was the epicenter of Madchester, a scene known for its club-oriented acts such as Happy Mondays and New Order. But in 1989, the party dwindled when a 16-year-old girl collapsed and died at the club. It was the first widely publicized ecstasy-related death in the UK, and experts wanted to know exactly how it happened.

Despite scary headlines and slogans like “One Pill Can Kill,” deaths from ecstasy are rare. But John Henry, a London toxicologist, linked MDMA, which causes a rise in body temperature, to overheating during parties. Meacham’s colleague Russell Newcombe, a drug researcher, has called for greater awareness of the importance of harm control in clubs, which might seem as simple as asking revelers to drink water – half a liter per hour is recommended when taking MDMA – to combat the severe effects of drug use (which are exacerbated by the physical exertion of dancing all night).

In 1994, Newcombe published the Safer Dancing Manifesto, in which he urged venues to provide “free cold water…at least in the toilets, and at best by providing water on the bars”. Subsequently, Meacham said it had become “good practice” for Manchester clubs to do so, even though it was not legally required. The venue owners knew that club kids were unlikely to order alcohol, because it reduced the effects of MDMA. Some have begun selling water to replace alcohol sales.

“It has definitely become a point of contention,” Meacham said. She recalls electronic music magazine Mixmag, which published a list of raves with hydrant icons next to each that had hydration stations. “It was common knowledge that you wanted to pick the place with the tap symbol,” she said.

Meacham and others continued to publish studies and reports on the importance of staying hydrated during the evening. It took more than 15 years for the UK to catch up legally, with a 2010 update to the country’s liquor licensing rules. She said: “I joke that getting free drinking water to be a legal obligation on all licensed premises in the UK is my greatest achievement, and I want that written on my tombstone.”

However, the law remains ambiguous, and there are many ways places can interpret it. Meacham points to London’s Fabric Club, which features an ice-cold water bar, as a good example. “But I can think of other places that only have one [water] “At the bar, as far away as possible from where all the action is, there’s always a long queue, and they only give you a small glass of it. Some festivals in the UK won’t have tap water in the proper bar that serves alcohol, but they’ll have a tap in a field that’s a three-quarters of an hour’s walk away from where all the entertainment is,” she said.

Security staff at concert venues usually have water bottles on hand, in case of a health emergency. In fact, it is not uncommon for artists to stop concerts when they see a fan in the audience needing help. (Billie Eilish handed out water to a Swedish audience during her 2018 performance, after a fan said: “We’re all passing out.”)

Richard Gallo, a 31-year-old publicist who lives in New York, often comes out and wonders why we had to get to this point. “If they have boxes of water on hand in case anyone has a reaction, that amazes me,” he said. “This can be mitigated by having multiple water stations around places.” Gallo noted that he’s seen friends drink straight from bathroom sinks at clubs as a (gross) last resort.

Harm reduction advocates argue that caring for beneficiaries is a good investment. People don’t want to go somewhere where they feel stingy with water.

“In my experience, doing the right thing pays off, and underestimating community safety can kill an event or venue,” said Richard Hartnell, organizer and outreach director at DanceSafe, a nonprofit known for distributing free drug testing kits at parties and festivals in North America. “If people know you care about them, and don’t want anyone to get brain damage from dancing for five hours in a sweaty box with no water, they’ll take your place instead of the inconspicuous one.”

Peter Kerr, a New York DJ and community activist, recalls his visit to Brooklyn’s Mirage, a since-closed megaclub popular among electronic dance music fans. “I would stand by the bar and see people ordering water, and I remember being confused by the price,” Kerry said. “It costs about as much as a beer. I spoke to one of the employees, and they said, ‘Oh yeah, this is more than just a crowd of pills.'” [meaning] “They can make some money selling water.”

(The Brooklyn club Mirage closed after failing to obtain the proper permits after a lengthy renovation. The club had water refill stations, but those were not next to the bar and patrons had to buy a bottle first. Representatives for Avant Gardner, which runs the place, did not respond to a request for comment.)

If New York changes its rules on free water, Kerry hopes the regulations will be specific enough to prevent places from easily flaunting them. “Not only should there be stations, they should be clearly lit,” he said. “If there’s an emergency, you want to know where the water is. There are exit signs in case of a fire. There should be blue signs for water. Fire codes for buildings, water codes for bodies.”