Tap Water please

Water is a resource that people need to live, right? So why when we live in a country that has tap water that is drinkable do we not get free water at restaurants? This is something that has really surprised me and sort of angered me. When I try to ask for “agua del grifo” to a waiter or waitress, they say that they do not have it. It just constantly surprises me because in the United States it is a right not a privilege to receive water at a restaurant and it comes right away when we first sit down. I wonder if it is just a Spanish thing because when traveling to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and other places I have received bottled water when ordering water; but in Sweden I received free tap water. I understand that giving an actually bottle of water seems more “high class” or “fancy” which going out to a dinner can be considered, but I think if one asks specifically for a tap water they should receive it. 

I do not want to be the environmentalist here as well, but the extra use of plastic bottles due to this issue is also harming our environment. This is something that I have become more aware of because of global warming and I want save our earth. So this is something that bothers because of the amount of plastic that gets into the oceans or is not thrown away properly. Therefore, I think this issue of not getting tap water at meals is an annoying issue that is present here in Spain.