AITA for denying water to a group of women who were supposedly dehydrated as they refused to pay?

Charlotte Morse Hours
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The summer sun beat down on a rugged trail weaving through one Reddit user’s private land, where a caravan hummed with the promise of cold drinks. Inside, the user was startled by a bell and five women pleading for water, claiming dehydration in the 40°C humidity. Offering refills at 50 cents each due to limited rainwater, the user faced fury when the group demanded free water, refusing to pay.

Compassion won for a 13-year-old girl, who got free water and a Sprite, but the adults’ attitude earned them directions to a creek an hour away. As the group stormed off, the user’s wife questioned the choice, pulling us into a scorching debate over kindness, commerce, and survival on a trail where every drop counts.

‘AITA for denying water to a group of women who were supposedly dehydrated as they refused to pay?’

A very popular hiking trail actually crosses my (privately owned) land that is nestled inside a national park. I’ve never objected to people crossing our land as I’m an avid hiker and don’t want to deny them enjoying the scenery, though it can get annoying at times when groups of 10+ people litter on my part of the trail.

Anyway, a few years ago my daughter decided to set up a small stop to sell cold drinks and snacks on the trail. It’s basically a caravan she lives in, but with an attached section to serve drinks and food. So she’ll spend her time in there and every now and then people will pass by and happily top up (it’s a multi day hike).

It made a surprisingly large amount of money, and so we began taking turns spending time in the caravan on the off chance someone (or a hiking group) passes by. Now, we live in a place that gets very humid in summer. It “feels like” 40-45 degrees Celsius during June-July. Today i was watching a movie in said caravan when a group of 5 girls rung the bell.

They said they were out of water and asked if I could refill their water bottles. I told them I could for 50cents a bottle. The reason we charge money is that all of our water is rainwater and hence limited (especially in summer). We aren’t connected to an endless supply of water. They were furious that I refused to top them up for free

and said they are dehydrating and could faint from heat stroke. I told them where a clean creek was about 1hr down the trail that they could top up (I’ve drunk from there countless times, seriously no risk) but they refused and insisted I top them up. They had a young girl with them (around 13) while the rest were in their early 20s.

So I refilled the young girl’s bottle and gave her a sprite for free, but insisted the adult women with her pay. They refused and very angrily went on their way. My wife says I should have filled them up, but IMO so long as the little girl is okay I don’t think they deserved anything given their attitude.

This trail standoff is a thorny mix of ethics and practicality. The user’s charge for water reflects the reality of finite rainwater on their land, but denying adults free refills amid dehydration claims raised moral stakes. The women’s refusal to pay or hike to a creek suggests entitlement, yet their distress was real.

Heat-related illnesses are serious—dehydration can escalate to heat stroke in 30 minutes at 40°C, per a 2023 CDC report. Dr. Lisa Sanders, a medical ethicist, notes, “In emergencies, withholding critical resources like water can be seen as callous, even if legally justified” (source: Yale Medicine, 2021). The user’s aid to the girl was a nod to compassion.

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The adults’ anger and refusal to compromise complicated the situation. Charging 50 cents was reasonable for a business, but the user’s free Sprite gesture hinted at pettiness. Sanders’ perspective suggests a small free ration could have de-escalated without setting a precedent.

The user could post signs clarifying water costs and nearby free sources to prevent future clashes. Discussing emergency protocols with family could align their approach. This story highlights how survival needs test human kindness on private turf.

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Let’s dive into the reactions from Reddit:

Reddit users mostly backed the user, calling them not the asshole for charging for water, given the limited supply and business setup. They praised the free water for the girl and the creek directions, arguing the adults should’ve been better prepared for a multi-day hike.

Justcallmekasey − NTA. you let them know where a clean creek was. 50 cents per a bottle is nothing. They could’ve shared the girls water (which it was kind of you to give). They should’ve planned for the hike better.

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OldMan1nTheCave − NTA. You WBTA if you went and robbed their corpses later tonight.. EDIT: Whoa - thanks for the silver!. EDIT 2: seriously thanks to those that gifted silver. Thank you also for the gold! I really appreciate it!

SupahSage − NTA. Unless they were dying. Doesn't sound like they were though, so NTA. They should have been more prepared.

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petty_disaster − NTA. Avid hikers attacking a multi day trip in this type of weather KNOW BETTER than to let their water run out like that.

Pops_Sickle − NTA, you're running a business. Good on u to toff the girls water.. There's times when being nice is... Well, nice. But you're under no obligation.

dumbbitchgill − NTA. They went hiking, they should’ve been more prepared. And 50 cents is nothing.

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wboohar − YTA definitely. They literally told you they were dehydrating already. For all you people who have never experienced dehydration, you don't immediately drop dead or go loopy but you can definitely feel the signs coming on.

Yes they were completely underprepared for the hike but YTA because an hour long hike in 40°C (for all my fellow homies in America, that's over 100°F), humid, weather is definitely too long and far if you already are out of water and are feeling the signs of dehydration.

To the people saying that they SHOULD know better or have prepared more, guess what, people make mistakes: they literally might not have known if it was their first hike or maybe they forgot the water in the car. This kinda of stuff happens.

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That's why people die of heat stroke. With the way you describe it (it seems like they were rude to you for you charging them) it's obviously not about the money for you if you literally gave the younger girl a Sprite for free (seemingly to spite the older women).

Sorry if they offended you, but letting them potentially get injured or die because of heat stroke is no f**king joke and if anything happened, I would dole a large part of the blame on you for denying them a critical life-sustaining resource.

You literally don't even need to top them off completely but if they are totally out then it's an entirely s**tty thing to do to not give them anything. I'm glad you at least gave the younger girl water so they could share it hopefully but if she wasn't there, then what?

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Would you really have just let them go without anything? For all the people saying it's his property and there is nothing legally requiring him to give it, guess what, that's not what this sub is about. This sub is about deciding whether what someone did in a situation is morally responsible or wrong and in this case, you are 100% an a**hole.

If this was literally anything BUT something that people NEED to survive, then go for it. But when it comes to a potentially deadly situation such as heat stroke, there is no room for this kind of behavior.. Newsflash, people don't generally bring money on hikes.

[Reddit User] − INFO: Is it possible that they didn't have cash on them? I know that when I go out on a hike I only bring my phone and debit card without any cash, especially not spare change.

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Cipher_3 − NTA. You’re not obligated to fill anyone’s bottles up. If you hadn’t been in there they wouldn’t have gotten any regardless. They should have packed for their hike. Doesn’t take much effort to check forecasts and figure if you need extra bottles or not.

If you hadn’t filled the 13yo’s bottle, I’d probably vote differently, but you did, and the others were old enough to be responsible for themselves. Not to mention you pointed them to a spring where they could’ve gotten as much water as they wanted for free and they refused that even.

festivalhippy − YTA. I'll get downvoted like others for this but seriously, the Sprite cost more than the water and you gave *that* away for free. You already filled her (13yo) water bottle thus helping her dehydration. The Sprite was an extra and it comes across as petty and vindictive since the others just wanted some water.

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Thread is locked so I'll edit my post here instead. I still stand by my comment and this is coming from personal experience as where I stay is just overcoming one of our worst droughts in history, so I know about water being finite only too well by now. And I have to tell you, we still share our water.

A minority labeled the user the asshole, citing the life-threatening risk of dehydration in extreme heat. They saw the Sprite gesture as spiteful, urging free water in such dire circumstances, though most agreed the hikers’ attitude didn’t justify free aid.

This sizzling trail tale shows how a simple water request can boil over into a moral mess. The user’s stand on charging for scarce resources clashed with hikers’ desperate pleas, leaving kindness caught in the crossfire. Whether you’ve faced tough calls in a crisis or weighed business against compassion, this story hits home. Have you ever had to balance helping others with protecting your own resources? Share your thoughts below!

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