In a drinking fountain that can be operated all year round, a return valve is installed in the ground below the soil frost line, which is approximately 1.5 meters deep. The water flows through this return valve every time the water output at the drinking fountain is activated. When the user has drawn enough drinking water, the water that is still in the inner pipe of the drinking fountain flows out of the pipe into the sewage connection or a flower bed for irrigation, because water is a precious commodity. As a result of the fact that no so-called standing water stagnates in the hoses, it cannot freeze in winter and may cause the pipes to burst due to expansion. A drinking fountain that can be operated all year round is therefore frost-resistant and can also dispense drinking water in winter at sub-zero temperatures without the system being damaged by frost.