Flowing water stays cleaner.
When I was a kid with my first microscope (a present from my biology teacher mom), she had me get water from the swampy bamboo forest at the bottom of our back yard. My eyes were opened to the multitude of squiggly microscopic creatures that inhabited that cloudy soup. Not so the flowing waters of the nearby creek.
The non-moving waters of the small pond breeds germs. So also a bladder that does not empty well. Whether it’s a man’s bladder that cannot void due to an enlarged prostate, or a woman’s bladder that has lost its support and tone after childbirth or menopause, the same principle holds true. The “stagnant pond syndrome” is a major contributor to urinary tract infections.
Although the stagnant pond syndrome is not the only cause of UTI’s, it’s important to drink a lot of pure water to keep the stream flowing. Even if the bladder does not empty well, increasing fluid intake will decrease the risk.