These water fountains flow constantly with fresh drinking water for anyone to use and they are everywhere in Rome. Covering the spout with your finger forces the water out a hole on top, creating a arch of water at perfect 𝓼𝓵𝓾𝓻𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 height. The Romans were/are with us.
That’s a whole lot of wasted drinking water when a modern drinking fountain would prevent the waste
Clean drinking water is not a scarcity everywhere. I’m pretty sure Rome would shut these down if that was the case.
Water treatment still costs something