Drinking water in the mountains: Is it OK to top up your bottle at the mountain hut?

A mountain hut owner in the Salzkammergut is currently venting his frustration on social media: he wanted to charge a guest a fee for refilling his water bottles at the washbasin without asking. The guest, in turn, had subsequently left the owner a poor review online.

The hut warden’s arguments: Treating tap water up in the mountains is a labour-intensive process, and after all, you have to pay for tap water at home too. That’s true. However, up until now, one could assume that you could simply pop into the loo and leave the hut with your water bottles refilled – obviously, that’s not allowed. But as a paying guest who’s eaten and drunk – why not? Surely those 0.7 litres of tap water must be included in the price. Just like washing your hands and using the toilet. But apparently it’s not that simple. Especially not when drinking water at the huts is slowly running low due to the prolonged drought.

Alpine Club: Water and energy are becoming scarce

Of the 325 mountain huts operated by the German Alpine Club in Germany and Austria, 10 per cent have been facing the prospect of having to cut the summer season short for several years now – the reason being a shortage of water and energy. Huts usually draw their water from surface sources fed by snowfields, glaciers and rainfall. A complex UV filtration system installed on-site then treats this water to produce germ-free drinking water. However, if these sources dry up as a result of climate change, water at the huts will have to be rationed. Otherwise, there is a risk of premature closure in the middle of the summer season. The Alpine Club therefore asks that water be used sparingly at the huts.

On average, a person uses 120 litres of water a day. In a mountain hut, however, the figure is usually 75 litres per person per day. Normally. But if water becomes scarce – as it did this summer – the landlady or landlord must take steps to save water:

• A washcloth (5 litres) instead of a shower (30 litres)
• Reuse drinking glasses and reduce the amount of crockery used
• Do not hand-wash clothes in the washbasin

Water shortages can also lead to energy shortages at the mountain hut, as many huts generate their own electricity using small hydroelectric power stations. If there is a lack of water in summer, or if glaciers and snowfields melt earlier than usual, the turbines do not generate enough electricity. This can mean that the innkeeper has to stop guests from charging their mobile phones and e-bike batteries.